To Hold in the Mind
by Enigma InuChild XIII
Summary: Above the clouds and beyond the stars sits a world of memory and a place resistant to the flow of Time. Once threatened by a terrifying darkness, it was quickly subdued by the light of two unique children. Now that this darkness has returned, will they be strong enough to seal it away once more? Or will they need the help of a certain Keyblade Master and his friends?
1. The Beginning

Okay, first story ever on Fanfiction! Woo! This should be fun! ...Or disaster waiting to happen... oh well. We'll see, won't we?

Advice and suggestions are always welcome!

Be warned, though. I already spellchecked three times in that little greeting. Curse these tiny keys! -.-

And now for the lighting of the Disclaimer Torch! It shall be the first of many!

Ahem...I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any of its characters, plotlines, and overall epic-ness.

* * *

1. The Beginning

_I can sense it..._

_It's coming for me..._

_...That familiar dark essence that has haunted my dreams..._

_Almost destroying what light I had left inside my soul..._

_It craves it..._

_...Thirsts for it..._

_...Devours it like the sweetest drug..._

_For many years I thought I had escaped it..._

_I thought we were safe..._

_I thought we had won!..._

_It was simply biding its time...waiting for the right moment to strike..._

_And there was no time to fight it..._

* * *

"Mavis!"

I broke away from my warring thoughts and slowly turned from the flashing computer screen with a grave look, only to be met with another.

"Anolani...?" I softly called, my mind still wrapped in ongoing thoughts, "You sense it too? The darkness?"

"I smelled it coming while I was patrolling. And let me tell you, it wasn't roses and sugar cubes!" My dear sister's usual childlike tone was laced with worry, and the expression on her face certainly didn't match her happy-go-lucky personality.

As she stepped into the dim, fluorescent light, my own fears might as well have doubled.

I can tell she ran all the way across Chronos Cay Island, from the ruggedness of her raven hair and the sweat beading on her forehead. Her silver plated armor, gauntlets, and grieves sported recent sword strikes from sparring early that morning; however, upon closer inspection I noticed deep, ragged claw strikes as well. Her caramel brown skin was glossed in perspiration and her red, waist length antenna were throw astray. But what struck my heart the most was the fear. The adulterated terror that surfaced in her scarlet eyes was a look I had not seen in eleven years.

"He's back, isn't he?" I pondered with a quiver in my voice. There was confirmation when Anolani bowed her head to the floor. My heart nearly shut down.

How can this be?

"But he isn't the same as before," Anolani replied gravely, "He's stronger now! Somehow he got these weird, creepy monsters to attack some of the outside villages! These strange pools started popping up, sucking people in them, and some of them even managed to release these...these hearts! It's like they're here one minute, gone the next! I'm telling you, it was crazy nuts!" There was panic in her tone as she spoke, her hands dramatically trying to reenact the attack until she eventually ran out of breath.

A creature that releases hearts? How was such a thing possible? It's unheard of.

"Were there any survivors?"

"Few. Anyone who survived were evacuated to the other islands by the Guard." Anolani came to my side to gaze at the malfunctioning computer, and gave a worried side glance, "Mavis? What's happening?"

"Honestly...I haven't a clue," I sighed, facing the keyboard, "I came in here to do a daily check, when all of a sudden, the Memory Lanes became littered with bugs. It's disrupting the flow of memory from every world. Tranverse Town, Radiant Garden, Agrabah, even Neverland! You name it, it's infected."

"What about the Inklings? Aren't they supposed to, you know, protect them?"

"I've tried contacting them, but they aren't responding. It's like they've vanished," I said, removing my round rimmed glasses and pinching the bridge of my nose in frustration. Strands of lavender fell over my pale face, and it took all I could to hold back the tears building up in my emerald orbs, "How did I not see it coming. For years I've prepared, and for what?"

"Um, Mavis? There's always plan B," Anolani said, appearing a tad skittish.

I peeked through the curtain of hair with an exasperated look, "What are you talking about now? If you're talking about that light show eleven years ago, it's not happening. The light in our hearts is too weak to fend him off. It'll just give him what he wants."

"Not that, silly! I meant the distress beacon!" She said with a beam. It fell when I shot her a harsh glare.

"No!"

"But Mav-!"

"Do you remember the last time we got involved with someone chosen by the Keyblade!? It nearly destroyed Chronos Cay! Heck, it's what's destroying it right now!" A shudder rocked beneath our feet. The sounds of the Guard echoed through the halls of the castle, followed by shouts of distress.

A passing soldier clad in armor and wielding a spear stopped in the doorway and said hurriedly, "Your Highness! His army has penetrated our walls!"

"What!?"

"His army has grown vastly and he sends his monsters to slay more men and consume the hearts of his victims!"

"Have the Guard join the troops in villages. Protect the villagers and have them evacuate to the farthest island in Chronos Cay!" I barked.

"But your Highness, what about you?"

"Just go! That's an order!"

As reluctant as he was, the guard nodded and raced down the hall to join his men in battle.

"But Mavis, what are you gonna do?" Anolani asked curiously, watching as I sorted through filing cabinets to put together my armor.

I was going to do something I should've done a long time ago...

"Anolani, I need you to leave."

She arched a thin brow at this, "Why? It's not like I haven't seen you naked before-"

My own brow twitched, "Not for that, you moron!"

"Oh."

I sighed turned to face her, fully dressed for battle. "I need you to leave Chronos Cay."

"What?..." Anolani' s eyes turned to angry slits, "I'm not gonna leave you here, Mavis! Especially not with him!"

"It's me he's after!" I shouted back, "There won't be enough time to get a reply from that beacon, so I want you to take the Shark go get help! Yen Sid, King Mickey, or Ansem the Wise! I don't care who! I'll hold him off for as long as I can."

"But you're my sister! I can't just leave you stranded!"

"You can, and you will."

"Mavis-!"

"That is an order from your princess!" I said with finality and turning my back to her and facing the computer, hoping to end it there.

She had no idea how much it hurt me to say those words, but it was the only way to get her to leave. It was the only way to keep her safe. If she stayed with me any longer, he would've killed her the second he found me. I can't let the happen.

Not when she was the only one I had left in this world.

Anolani was silent with unused tears, and bowed before me. "Yes, your Highness." She straightened and shot one last mournful look before running out the door for the ship hanger.

Another quake shook the castle, yet I paid it no heed. I let a single tear drip down my cheek, and tightly gripped the star-shaped pendant that hung around my neck, giving a silent prayer for her return.

"Please, forgive me, Anolani."


	2. Nil

Chapter Two is coming your way! Woo! Hopefully you all are already confused and wanting to know more! If not, well, you sure will be in this one. And if you still aren't impressed, I'll just keep shoving it in your face until you do!...I mean...let's just do the disclaimer O.o

Ahem... I do not own Kingdom Hearts, characters, plotlines, etc, etc, does anyone else get tired of these? No? Just me? Alrighty then.

* * *

2. Nil

_"That is an order from your princess!"_

"I sure hope you know what you're doing, Mavis...," Anolani murmured softly, recalling her sister's harsh command. Even now, traveling hundreds of miles through interspace past millions of brilliant stars, far from the chaos ensuing on Chronos Cay, Mavis' words stung worse than the harshest burn.

The young princess had never dared to bark orders at Anolani before. Never, not once. They were sisters. Not by blood, no, but through their heart's connection, they held a bond strong enough to break even the most tainted darkness. That is why they kept each other close. Anolani knew if she had left Mavis alone for even a moment, she'd be left vulnerable. Ever since the incident eleven years ago, Anolani vowed to never leave her sister's side ever again. That she would protect her, even at the expense of her own life.

And now that the two were separated, it felt like she had broken that promise.

Anolani let out a frustrated grunt and slapped her forehead, hard, "Don't be silly! It's only following orders, right? And Mavis is a big girl! She can take care of herself just fine without me!" She faked a grin, hoping it would vanquish her worries over the young mauve.

"I mean, sure the last time I had left her alone, she had that nasty fall in the kitchen and butchered her arm, and had to get stitches...I-I mean, it's just a bunch of heart stealing monsters led by a tyrannical parasite bent on world domination! H-How bad could she s-screw...up..."

...

"Ugh! Can't this thing go any faster!?" The raven growled, slamming her fists on the controls, causing the sleek ship to rattle violently. There has got to be a way for her to get to the nearest world and back fast enough! Who knows how Mavis could be fairing with all those nasties!

"Wait a sec!" Anolani held a finger up in thought, "Wasn't there a warp speed button installed on this thing? I could use that!"

Anolani searched for said button on the dashboard until her ruby eyes found two promising ones under a failsafe container, one blue, one red.

"Shoot, that's right! Mavis said not to use it unless it was an emergency! But which one was it!?" The young girl gripped her hair desperately, eyes shooting from one button to the next. _"Think Anolani! Your sister is counting on you! Let's see...blue, or red. Red, or blue. Red, blue, blue, red! Gah! That's it! I'm gonna do it! I'm pressing the button!"_

Closing her eyes, the frazzled guard slammed her fist through the glass casing onto the blue button. At first, all seemed still, and she had thought it was all for not.

"Huh, I could swear it was the-!"

A sudden jolt sent her body slamming into the cockpit seat. The ship zoomed forward, disappearing in a speck of white light.

* * *

This is such a depressing sight. My heart can't take this much destruction, this much chaos, and all caused by one man's foolish curiosity. How could everything had gone so wrong, so quickly?

The skies above Chronos Cay, once a soothing robin's egg blue were obscured by thunderous black clouds. The wind had reached hurricane like conditions, and in the distance, a cacophony of screams from the nearby villages resonated above the roaring winds. I stood stoically in the center of the castle courtyard, clad in sturdy silver plated armor, waiting. Calmly waiting for his return. Ready to erase his name from existence. To put an end to this madness.

Unearthly growls and snarls approached the wooden gate, and the deafening cries of agony followed soon after. I held my place and clenched my metal gloved hands. It was too late to run. It was too late to fight. But I wasn't prepared to die.

All was still. The screaming had ceased. Even the howling winds seemed to sense the tension building up, and froze, waiting to see what would happen next.

The minute I took a breath, the gate cracked, then shattered, wood debris and the bodies of fallen soldiers littering the ground. Before me stood an army of strange monsters, to which I can only assume to be the heart stealing creatures from Anolani's report. Their bodies were pitch black with soulless yellow eyes and long antenna. There hundreds of them, twitching unsettling, watching me with hungry eyes, waiting for me to make a move. However, they were not the ones that caused me grief. They weren't my target.

"Nil! Show yourself!" I called through the mass crowd, malice dripping with every word, "I can smell your darkness through these wretched filth! Come and face me, like the man you once were!"

"Heh, heh, only you would talk with such strength, yet have nothing to show for it," a voice warped and wet with slim spoke above the crowd. The sea of monsters parted, allowing a large mass to come forth, the stench of darkness stronger than before. His body was black and dripped cold, darkness every which way. He was humanoid in shape, with glowing white eyes and face contorted to that of a serpent. When he opened his mouth to speak, it revealed rows of black, sharpened fangs, and more black sludge fell from his maw.

"You are looking well, princess," Nil said, a smirk upon his lips.

"Cut the crap, Nil," I spat, glaring at the vile beast, "I'm not here for pleasantries, and I can assume you aren't either. So let's just cut to chase."

Nil chuckled condescending, "Very well. You've become quite the little spit fire since we last saw each other."

"I'm tired of you. I'm tired of the nightmares. I'm tired of the pain. I'm tired of the suffering! I'm just about ready to end your pathetic existence!."

"But why would you do that? Don't you see, Mavis? I have finally seen the truth. Even the strongest light cannot vanquish the darkest darkness. Only make it stronger! You cannot deny the truth, Mavis. After all," the creature smirked, "You helped me discover it."

"I was too young to realize the monster you were becoming!" I retorted, face fierce with regret, "You were once a good man! I idolized you! Mother, before she died, loved you until her dying breath! Anolani loved you like her own father! But you threw that all away, for what? For some lousy fairytale, from a no good scientist, and a master of the key! It's about time someone put an end to you." Raising my fists, I clenched them together, electricity flowing through the gauntlets.

"Ungrateful child, you have forgotten one thing," Nil growled and brought one clawed hand forward, "That this is my kingdom! My throne! And once I've consumed your heart, there will be nothing that can stop me!"

With a throaty, earth shaking roar, he commanded his army to attack. And with a calming breath, I charged, fists in the air towards the coming onslaught.

* * *

The minute Anolani woke up from her disorienting flight, an aching feeling in her back came rushing head on. Smoke billowed from the control panel into the clean air, and when she rose from her seat, she winced from the bright sunlight.

"Oh man. What a rush!" She said, still in a dizzy spell while climbing out of the cockpit and landing on fresh green grass, "Note to self: seat belt first, then warp speed button."

Looking back up at the wreckage, she winced at the sight. The Shark was completely ripped apart. The cockpit lid was cracked and hung loosely from the rim, one the wings was ripped from the base and tossed into a nearby bush, and the nose of the ship was buried in dirt. Mavis was going to kill her when she finds out! It took her weeks to perfect the Shark!

"Mavis is going to have a cow..." Anolani groaned, wiping soot off her cheek.

"It came from over here! Come on!"

The guard perked up after hearing a familiar scratchy voice and the sound of hurried footsteps. Looking around, Anolani quickly realized that she was in a well taken care of topiary garden, well, aside from the scorch marks and burning bushes caused by the crash. "Wait, is this..."

"Hold it right there!" The voice from earlier whacked angrily, a wizard's staff now at the tip of her nose. Looking up at her attacker, Anolani's eyes widened in shock.

Before her stood a white feathered duck with an yellow bill twisted into a threatening frown, and behind him a tall black haired dog glancing curiously over his shield. The duck was dressed in blue wizard garb covered in various pockets and zippers, while the dog was clothed in a green turtle neck, beige pants, yellow vest, and matching hat. The mouse symbol on the sheild brightened the smile on Anolani's face.

"Donald! Goofy! Thank goodness it's you guys!" She said relieved.

Goofy peered over his shield a bit more, then squinted his eyes, "Gawrsh, is that you, Anolani?"

"Little Lani?" Donald pondered in shock as said girl stood from the wreckage, "It is you!"

"Wow! You're all grown up now, aren't ya?" Goofy chuckled

"Heh, yeah, I guess I am," Anolani replied with reddened cheeks, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Well, what are you doing here?" Donald asked, looking at the wrecked shuttle, "Is that the Shark? Mavis is going to-!"

"Gah! I almost forgot!" Anolani went into a panic and grabbed Donald's collar, shaking him wildly,"You gotta take me to Mickey! Mavis is in trouble! He's back! He's back! He's back!"

"Who's back?" Goofy called over Donald's strangled cries.

* * *

"Nil?" The mouse king inquired with a look of shock crossing his features while the others looked on with serious expressions. The three of them were boarded on the Gummi Ship to Chronos Cay. After getting Mickey from his library, Anolani explained the situation while dragging him to the Gummi hanger in a rush. And by explained, she means rambling and talking all at once.

"Uhuh! He's back! But this time he's got these heart stealing monsters with him!"

"Heartless!" The three animals cried in unison while Anolani remained lost.

"Er...r-right. And whenever the hearts come out, Nil just eats them! Like it's a piece of chocolate or something! I think that gives him power!"

"We're gonna need help if we're fighting the Heartless again," Donald explained, giving Goofy a knowing side glance.

"Yeah! Maybe we should go get Sora and the others!" Goofy said with a grin. It faltered when Anolani gave him a heated glare.

"I'm not waiting for reinforcements while Mavis is still on Chronos Cay with that monster!" She said with finality, her arms crossed.

"But the Heartless!"

"No fellas. Anolani's right," Mickey said as the ship approached Chronos Cay, "We don't leave a friend behind."

* * *

The quartet raced through the island nation of Chronos Cay, slicing and blasting through armies of Heartless and Nil's followers in hopes of reaching the castle. As Anolani fought, shooting round after round of bullets from her pistols, a sudden pain shot through her heart.

_"A-Ano...lani...h-help..."_

"Mavis!" She cried, worry undoubtedly stabbing her heart, "Come on, you guys! Mavis needs us!"

_"I knew I shouldn't have left her behind! Screw orders! She's my sister! Her safety should've came first! If that creep lays one finger on her so help me, I'll rip him limb from limb!" _Th fierce guard thought angrily as fought through the castle gates. Nothing could extinguish the fire in her heart. She would continue to fight until she was safe with her sister by her side.

Upon entering the courtyard, the four warriors froze and with mouths agape, stared as the slimy creature, Nil, rose an unconscious Mavis to his mouth, ready to devour the young princess whole if need be.

"Get your filthy, disgusting hands off of her!" Anolani cried. With a well aim shot, a bullet pierced through the monster's hand.

Nil cried out in pain and dropped Mavis, her limp body crashing the concrete ground.

"Mavis!" Goofy ran to grab the mauve, ignoring Nil's dark presence as he lifted her into his arms, "She's not wakin' up!"

"What is this?" Nil chuckled darkly, turning towards the company of heroes. When he spotted King Mickey, holding his keyblade ready to strike, he laughed even harder, causing a shudder to shot through Anolani's body, "How pathetic! Such powerful beings seeking refuge in mortals! And masters of keys no less!"

"Who are you calling pathetic!?" Donald growled, shaking his wand in the air.

"How could you do something like this?" Anolani murmured in disbelief, "does the past mean nothing to you?"

"It matters not what occurred in the past, but what you do in present to bring about a greater future."

The raven haired guard snarled, "You have no right to say that. Not anymore," she raised her guns, fully intent on fighting, "You're going to pay for what you did to Mavis."

"There's no time!" Mickey held the girl back, "We need to get Mavis somewhere safe!"

How could he say that!? This monster is destroying her home! He almost killed her sister! He deserves to die! To burn! To suffer the same pain they suffered. When Anolani went to retort, her eyes trailed back to Mavis' weakened form. Her skin was cut and pale from the cold, and her breathing shallow. Her clothes were ripped and torn several places, and lacerations scattered about her armor. She had just fought a battle, almost to the death. Just seeing her in this condition was enough to bring the guard to her knees. She knew Mickey was right.

With a regretful nod, she followed the mouse king and his friends out of the castle towards the ship.

"That's right you cowards! Go ahead and run!" Nil roared, "But be warned. The next time we meet, I will not be so lenient!"


	3. Memories Adrift

Chapter three coming up! Might be a little short and boring, but rest assured, the next will be a bit more interesting. And no worries, Sora and the gang will be introduced soon enough. Hopefully people are actually reading this aside from my darling sister (if I didn't say that she'd probably kill me o.o), if not, your loss, not mine ^^

By the way, if I suck at describing Sora's clothes, I'm really sorry. I may be an artist but even I know that outfit is insanely complicated. O.O

Ahem... I do not own Kingdom Hearts or its epicness...seriously, does anyone get tired of writing these? Or do you just get used to it?

* * *

3. Memories Adrift

_ It's been so long since mommy went away. And ever since then, papa's been busier than ever. I never get to play with him anymore, or go to the beach and eat ice cream together. He always says he'd play later, but never shows up. Did I do something wrong? Did I make him angry? I try saying sorry. I say it everyday. But he says I've done nothing wrong. That he just misses mommy very much. I miss her too, but mommy would want us happy, right? And that means we should play together! Like always!_

_ Lani and I try to get him to play with us, but he's always around these strange people. He's says they're s-scien-en-tiss, and they like to break stuff apart to see how it works. But Lani says they give her the creeps. They look at us very weird too. Do they want to know how we work? That's silly right? Everyone knows how people work! But still, she's not kidding. They give me the creeps too. _

_ I wish mommy were here. Then maybe she can get daddy to stop working, and come play in the sand with us. We'd eat ice cream, play in the water, make sand castles...we can be happy again with mommy..._

* * *

Somehow I knew coming here would have faults. No one mentioned the Keyblade Master lived on an island. "How annoying..."

The smell of salt was thick, and the sounds of waves crashing the shoreline and gulls flying overheard would be soothing to the common beach goer. The skies were clear of clouds, the sun beating down on the blinding white sand, and palm trees littered the tiny island with spots of shade. From the elaborate treehouses that hung in the foliage above and the small pier near the end of the shoreline, I can tell this particular island was no meant for living, but for playing. An island for children I can only guess.

That explains Anolani's excitement some.

"This...is...AWESOME!" The cheery guard squealed, twirling about in the white sand, "This is almost like Chronos Cay! You know, without all the towers and stuff. Why didn't we think of this!? A play island! Genius!"

I sighed and shook my head at my sister. I had a feeling she knew about this before we left Disney Castle. After waking up from the battle with Nil and getting patched up by Donald and Goofy, King Mickey decided it would be best if we got reinforcements; someone who could defeat the Heartless effortlessly, and help us regain Chronos Cay. I've heard stories of the Keyblade Master while on bed rest from Goofy. From what I can tell from the tales, he wasn't that much older than us. That makes me a little skeptical. If he's young, that leaves more room for error, and I couldn't have that with Nil running loose. However it seems I have no choice but to trust the king's judgement.

Anolani and I left more than a day ago in one of the king's Gummi ships (after giving Anolani an earful for wrecking the Shark and using the warp drive without consent), and during the ride, she couldn't keep that knowing look off her face.

She had even dressed for the occasion, sporting casual black shorts with a white studded belt, a white tank under a black and red zippered vest, her elbow length gloves beneath her white palm one's, and her knee high white socks with red and black tennis shoes. Casual attire in a situation like this was idiotic to me, but to her it made it all the more fun.

"Come on, Mavis! Come frolic in the sun with your sissy!" Anolani cheered as she twirled, shooting one of her signature puppy-eyed looks my way.

I sighed once again from my spot by the small waterfall, "We're here on a mission, Anolani. We don't have time for fun. Besides, you know I hate the beach."

"Hmph! How can you call yourself an islander if you hate the beach?" The raven scoffed with a smirk, hands placed on her hips, "You used to love the beach!"

"People change," I replied with a shrug. Besides, with this unbearable heat, I wouldn't dare step into the sun dressed like this. My white lab coat was torn in half due to the battle, so it only covered my left arm and was held up with a black studded belt. I was dawned in long baggy black pants with white patchwork, white and lavender sneakers, and a sleeveless purple and black stripped turtleneck. A long white sleeve covered my left arm while bandages were wrapped around my right. During the fight with Nil, my arm was burned when Nil managed to throw one of my attacks right back at me. My arm was used as a lightening rod.

"Mavis, you gotta learn to relax! You'll never enjoy life if you keep following all your scientific logic mumbo jumbo all the time."

"My 'scientific logic mumbo jumbo' is the only thing that gets things done around here," I retorted, standing and brushing off grains of sand, "It is science that allowed me to create the Inklings, that has led me to the discovery of memory preservation, and a system to monitor the Memory Lanes without a single incident...that is...until now," I walked towards my sister with a frown, "so until you can give me a legitimate to discontinue my beliefs, do not question them, and let us find this 'key' so we can be rid of this stupid beach trip." With that said, I marched off towards to pier to think, Anolani following not far behind.

"Someone needs an ice cream," the guard giggled, hands innocently behind her back. She raced to be at my side and sat down on the edge, staring out at the vast ocean before us, "So, oh wise one, what do we do now? Mickey said he sent a letter to them, so they should already know to come here."

"They should be coming here at noon, so any minute now," I replied, staring ahead, "until then, we wait."

And so we did. While Anolani filled her time absently playing with the small fish that swam beneath the pier, I became lost in the sea's peaceful rhythm. The way the waves moved was hypnotic, and soon my mind went adrift, thoughts flowing in and out with the crashing of the waves.

This euphoria brought back so much. The days of when Anolani and I would venture to the beach and spend our days frolicking in the salt water and digging holes in the sand. When Chronos Cay was a peaceful place, and everyone, even father would rush to the shore and play until the day turned to dusk. And then every night, when the stars were out and the moon hung above, mother would sing us to sleep with of her lullabies while father rocked us to sleep.

Sometimes I missed those days, when the universe seemed like a bright and happy place, and you could spend the day eating ice cream to your heart's content.

It's a good thing I learned such things were a fantasy...

"Boats ahoy!"

I snapped out of my reverie at the sound of Anolani's call and spotted three canoes headed towards the pier.

"Oh my gosh! They're here! They're here! They're here! I can't believe it!" She jumped up and clung to my side, almost knocking my glasses out of place, "Do you think they're as powerful as Mickey says they are?"

"Let's hope. And if they are, pray that they are on our side," I said with a small glare, "I can't trust my kingdom in the hands of more destructive keys."

As the boats drew near, I could see their occupants much better than before. In the first boat was a young boy with azure blue eyes and spiked up hair the color of chestnuts. I can tell from his demeanor that he was childish and bore an innocence of one as well, but can see the the heroic glaze in his eyes Donald and Goofy spoke of during their story. I sensed his clothes bore magical properties, probably given to him from his last journey. The base color was a deep black, with spots of yellow, blue, and red for the pockets. Silver plated armor protected his shoulders and a silver crown held by a heavy chain hung around his neck.

The second boat held a girl with shoulder length red velvet hair and deep indigo eyes. I can only assume she is the princess of heart from the stories, and her presence held a caring air. But I can tell in her eyes that she had a fighting spirit, though it was small. She dressed mainly in a pink dress with a white tank beneath and violet shoes. A bracelet covered her wrist.

In the last canoe held another boy, much older than his companions, with long silver hair and eyes of turquoise. My suspicions grew. From what Mickey told me, this one allowed himself to be controlled by the darkness, but somehow he found his way out. If he would do so again I don't know, but Mickey entrusted his help, so for now I can only take his word. This boy was dressed in a yellow and white vest and black shirt, baggy blue jeans, and yellow and white tennis shoes. His arm hosted a single white sleeve.

When the three docked, Anolani was quick to pull them from their boats with a wide beam. "Hiya! You guys the Keybearers!? I've heard so much about you guys from Mickey and Donald and Goofy! It's so nice to meet you in person! Oh man! Wait 'til the girls on Chronos Cay hear about this!"

I held back the urge to laugh at their overly confused faces and grabbed the back of my sister's collar and held her up high, "Anolani, your ranting is getting us nowhere. As a matter of fact, I bet you just confused the mess out of them with that introduction."

"Oh. Sorry!"

"So..., King Mickey sent you to get us?" The brown haired boy asked, awkwardly scratching the back of his head.

"Yeah, that's right," Anolani and I said in unison, my grip still on her collar. She beamed while I remained blank.

"Well, it's nice to meet you two," the girl spoke first with a small grin and shook hands with my dangling sister, "I'm Kairi."

Anolani giggled, "I'm Anolani! This is my sister Mavis! Who should really put me down now. I'm starting to get dizzy."

"Not until we're back on the ship."

"Aw, darn!"

"I'm Sora!" The brown haired boy greeted with a nonchalant wave, while the silver haired one gave us a weird look.

"Riku...uh, is that normal?" He asked, looking between us with an odd look.

"Quite," I replied turning away from the trio and carrying Anolani back to the Gummi ship hidden in the trees, "Now come. Everything will be explained once we reach Disney Castle."

"Can we play on the beach some more?"

"No."

"Aw, come on! Frolic with your sissy!"

* * *

As the two sisters marched away, the trio of heroes looked on with incredulous faces.

"King Mickey said powerful beings from another dimension will come for us at noon, right?" Sora pondered, lazily having his arms behind his head.

Kairi nodded skeptically while watching the two bicker, "Are you sure it's them he was talking about?"

"At least we know one thing," Riku said with a smirk, "This won't be anything like our other adventures."


	4. The Tale of Father Time

Here again for Chapter 4! Woo! I just had a nap and I'm ready to write!...Type!...Whatever!

This chapter should explain a lot of scrap I left hanging in the wind ^^ Bear with me, it'll start to make sense soon enough.

Ahem... I do not own Kingdom Hearts or it's characters, plotlines, etc, etc,... alright, torch has been lit! Let us begin!

* * *

4. The Tale of Father Time

"Mavis?"

...

"Maaaavis!"

...

"Hellooo! Anyone in there!?"

...

"Are you giving me the silent treatment?"

...

"I think she's giving me the silent treatment."

...

"Fine! Two can play that game!"

...

...

...

...

...

"Okay, I can't do it! Mavis! Talk to me! Say something! Anything to assure me you aren't deaf!"

"Shut up, Anolani."

"Yay! She's alive!"

_"I swear on Chronos, if she doesn't stop that excessive cheering...!" _ I thought in annoyance, my one good hand squeezing the wheel of the Gummi ship threateningly.

Almost the entire trip back to the castle, while I've been trying to get the hang of driving such a large ship, Anolani had been prancing around in the back with the Keybearers, happily telling them stories of Chronos Cay and seem to grow more excited each minute of being around the three mortals. She tried involving me in the conversation several times, noticing I haven't made an effort in learning about our new comrades. Honestly, I wasn't up for it. If they want to know more about me, they should ask me themselves. I'm not going to blatantly throw caution to wind, and reveal my life story to a bunch of strangers. Keybearers or not, they've yet to gain any personal trust from me. Mickey may deem them trustworthy with his personal affairs, but not me.

"Mavis! Come talk to our new friends!" Anolani huffed, her hands on her hips, "You've been ignoring them ever since we left Destiny Islands!"

"Okay, first off, they are not my friends. They are complete strangers. Second, I'm trying to drive this monstrosity called a shuttle, and I need to focus! It's hard enough one of my hands is burned to crisp with you badgering me," I growled at her, practically bearing my teeth.

"Then let me drive for a sec!" She offered with a grin.

"That last time I left you in charge of driving, the Shark was totalled. Why don't you tell them more of your riveting stories. I'm sure they'd appreciate the company," I grumbled, hoping to be rid of her for a while.

Of course, as fate would have it, I was not to get my wish.

Out of the corner of my eye, Anolani's face slowly brightened, and the corners of her lips curled upward into a brilliant beam. Movements swift, she quickly slammed her fist on the autopilot. I was going to protest, but was tightly grabbed by the arm and dragged in to the where the Keybearers sat together in confusion, and shoved me onto one of the many couches in the living area. Unfortunately it was one of the smallest, therefore when Anolani made a move to sit, I was wedged uncomfortably between her and the arm of the couch.

"There! Now you have no choice but to talk to our new friends!" The raven-haired guard stated with finality, butt firmly planted on my left leg.

I growled, "They are NOT my friends!"

"Hey! We're right here!" Sora said with a child-like pout, his arms crossed while Riku seemed to glare.

"What's your damage with us?" The silver-haired teen growled, boring holes into my skull while I did the same. Anger and irritation radiated off us in waves.

"Oh, she's just cranky from all that driving she had to do," Anolani replied with a gleeful smile, waving off my and Riku's intense stare down, "Besides, the reason I brought her here was so we could tell you more about us! Since it seems we're gonna be together for a while and all."

"Like hell I wi-mmph!" Anolani covered my mouth with with duct tape. _Where the heck did_ _she_...

"As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, I think a proper introduction is involved!" Anolani said with gusto, "I am Anolani! Head Warrior of the Chronos Cay Royal guard! And presenting!" The flamboyant guard stood with open arms towards me, "Princess Mavis! Daughter of Time, and unofficial ruler of Chronos Cay Island! Land of the Golden Sands!" I could swear I heard the sound of trumpets and the launching of confetti somewhere.

"Princess!?" The three islanders shouted in surprise.

"Your a princess?" Sora pondered, now looking at me more closely as if to verify my royal blood.

"In a sense, yes, I am," I said, balling up the alleged tape in my fist, "You sound surprised."

"W-Well it's just that..."

"You seem so...uh...," Kairi twiddled her fingers, trying to find the right words.

"You sure don't act like one," Riku said for them, still leering my way.

"I'll have you know, not all princesses are as pure-hearted as the ones in your dimension," I explained, lazily laying my cheek against my fist, "But perhaps we should start from the beginning. Starting with our origin. Anolani?"

Nodding her head with a grin, Anolani began to explain.

"You see, we're not from your dimension. Where we come from, there are no keys, or doors, or anything like that. We don't even count as mortal! Our people, mostly Mavis' family, act as guardians over your world and lots of others! More specifically, guardians over time and memory."

"My family has guarded the sanctity of time over the worlds for centuries, making sure there is no damage to anyone's timeline, or the memories within each timeline," I said, capturing their attention, "On Chronos Cay we have no kings, but a Father that guides the very stream of time, and rules his people as such a true father would. He is known as Father Time, and I happen to be one of his descendants."

"Wait, so if your Father Time's daughter, wouldn't that make you...I dunno, Mother Time, or something?" Sora inquired, look of confusion crossing his features.

"Heh, while Chronos Cay may be a somewhat utopian society, I'm afraid that only males can take the title of Father Time, and my mother never bore a son," I smirked, "I will have to marry in order to rule, for now I'm just a figurehead."

"That's so sexist!" Kairi exclaimed, gaining unsettled looks from the boys she sat between, and a bubble of laughter from Anolani, "You're his daughter, so you should be able to rule if you wanted too!"

"True enough. However that's just how Chronos works, I can't change it."

"And what about Anolani?" Riku pondered over the black haired guard, "if she's your sister, shouldn't she get a chance too?"

I gave him a deadpanned look, "If you haven't noticed it already, neither of us look anything alike. Shouldn't that be enough evidence for you, or do I have to spell it out?"

"You're adopted," Kairi said with a small grin while Sora attempted to calm Riku's sudden tantrum.

"Righty-O!" The cheerful girl replied, "Mavis' mom and dad took me in when I tried to steal from the palace."

"They found it hilarious to find a six year old digging through our fridge at two in the morning," I grumbled only to get tackled into Anolani's arms.

"But then wittle Mavis here wouldn't let me go, so they decided to take me in as her personal guardian! We've been together ever since! Oh, you should've seen her, she was so cute!" She coddled me with a wide beam.

"I was three years old. Get over it."

"Huh!? So, you're younger than her!?" Sora's eyes widened and shot between the two of us incredulously.

"Wait, just how old ARE you!?" Riku asked with the same amount of shock.

"Little Mavis here is only fourteen! And I'm seventeen! Almost street legal!"

"Ha! That means we're all older than you!" Riku laughed with a snide look.

"At least my age isn't higher than my IQ," I retorted, causing his temper to flare.

"What was that!?"

"Anyway!" Sora called over the argument, trying to get back on track, "if your all powerful guardians, what are you doing down here?"

"I'm afraid our world has been conquered by an entity of pure darkness," I replied, all playful badgering aside, "About eleven years ago, my father discovered something unusual. These pathways, completely composed of memory, began to form between the hearts of worlds. Pathways created by the Keybearers long before you came along. These Memory Lanes were built of the strong memories shared between the key, and those he or she had touched. If powerful enough, those lanes would remain strong, and they can never be disconnected. When he discovered this, father created a system to monitor the Memory Lanes, and watch as each new memory that's formed and carried between the hearts of each world that had been visited.

"As he watched each lane bond the hearts of every world, he curiosity grew. He began to wonder about the world's he had guarded for centuries, more specifically, the hearts of the worlds from which the memories were stored. What made hearts so special? What was that light that shined with every new memory? What made it so bright? Was it the light from the hearts of all who lived there, or the memories of the past that warmed these hearts? He spent much of his time devoted to finding the truth. Hours in the castle labs, speaking with scientists from all over Chronos Cay, until one day, a mysterious man wielding a magical key visited him and told him the ways of darkness."

I slowly took a breath and closed my eyes, my heart budding against my chest as the memories began flooding in. Anolani sensed my discomfort and rested a gentle hand upon my shoulder, gazing at me with such sad eyes. Sora, Kairi, and even Riku felt the thick tension rising as the story progressed, and leaned in closer with worry etched in their blue hue eyes. Even Kairi felt the need to take the Keybearer's hand in comfort.

"He had...never seen anything like it," I continued, eyes lowered to the floor, "Such a thing was unheard of. Darkness. Even the word burns the tongue. Father made it his life's goal to figure out the truth of light and darkness, even included Anolani and I in his research. But there was a problem: how can he study darkness without darkness? Our land was pure. There wasn't a trace of it...until, that is, he found something odd..."

"Whenever we joined him in the lab, Mavis and I would sit on the table and play," Anolani said, the chirp gone from her voice, "but every time we touched hands, our hands would glow. It was our hearts telling us that we were connected, and only gets stronger when we were in contact. Only, the darkness in my heart clashed with the light in Mavis', and the reaction caused it to spark. Dad found the darkness he needed in us. Using the knowledge he received from his scientist friends, he took us to his lab, and found a way to extract the excess darkness that was released."

"And through hours of experimentation, he created a powerful artificial copy of pure darkness, the parasitic symbiote, Nil," I continued for her, "I hadn't a clue what my father was planning. I only helped him succeed because...b-because I thought that he...," I struggled to get the words to form without breaking down into a crying mess, "I-I thought I could make him proud of me. That he would stop once he got what he wanted, and come play with us, just like before. It only made him want more, made him more shut out. And now with that darkness, he wanted to test its strength. To see if it could snuff out even the brightest light. He asked me to be his test subject, but I refused. I may have been small, but even I could see that this was a bad idea. You should've seen the insanity in his eyes...he was no longer the benevolent Father I idolized."

I shook my head to clear my thoughts before I continued.

"Mavis...," Kairi's voice was filled with sorrow and pity, but I ignored it. I don't need pity. It was too late for such a thing.

"Finding no other subjects, he decided to test the darkness upon himself. Only, it did not snuff out the light, or in vice versa. It devoured it, consumed his heart whole. He became a creature of madness and destruction, and that in itself, almost destroyed Chronos Cay. But before he could, Anolani and I faced him, frightened children, but resolute, and vanquished the darkness overtaking our land, restoring the light with our own. He was weakened, and fled before anyone could capture him, never to be seen again...until now. Nil has returned, stronger than before, and bearing these heart stealing monsters, or Heartless, attacking Chronos as we speak. I tried to stop him, but failed. And he's corrupting the Memory Lanes with the Heartless and stealing the light right from under our noses."

"That's why we need your help. All of you," Anolani said with a small smile. She took my quivering hand in her own and squeezed it reassuringly, "After the attack, Mickey and the others came by order of the Royal Advisors to see if we were okay. He told us lots of stories to calm us down, even the legend of the Keyblade. We figured-"

"You figured, Anolani," I said coldly, eyes glued to the floor.

"Heh, well, I figured," she continued with a shrug, "That maybe a key was all we needed to bring dad back. To show him the light again."

I huffed and shot out of the seat, "How stupid! What he needs, is to be destroyed!"

"Wait a sec, that's your dad you're talking about!" Sora shot from his seat, a desperate yet pleading look on his face, "He may have lost his body, but his heart's still in there somewhere! You just gotta believe that his light will shine through the darkness!"

"Hmph, my father's heart was devoured years ago," I retorted with a brief look of boredom, "Need I remind you it was a key that show him the way to darkness in the first place?"

Sora went to reply, but then a thoughtful look crossed him, biting his lip in confusion and defeat.

"That's what I thought," I turned to leave the scene, calling over my shoulder, "We should be at the castle in a few minutes!" When a tight vice grip held my wrist.

I glared my emerald orbs into angry aquamarine, "Let. Go."

"You're damn heartless, you know that?" Riku said, pure hatred lacing his tone, "I've been through the darkness and back. I've seen people, my friends, suffer because of my mistakes, I've met so many people so shrouded in darkness, it was hard to even breath around them. But I've never met someone so cold as to kill their own father without a second thought."

"You don't-!"

"Shut up!" I flinched at his tone, but kept my heated glare.

"Riku...," Kairi attempted to go and calm the boy, never seeing him so angry, but Sora held her back. This was something they couldn't stop. They had to let it out.

"He was once your father, right? He played with you, raised you, loved you! And you just want to forget all that and kill him? Without even giving him the benefit of the doubt?! Have you no shame!? No heart!? Or are you just as cruel as I believe you to be?" Riku snarled, grip holding fast, "I may have chosen the darkness once, but even I know there is a light somewhere in him, waiting to burst from the darkness."

"It's true...he did love me," I murmured softly, gently pulling my hand from his and setting my eyes onto his, forest green becoming cloudy, "he did raise me. He taught me so much. And he played with me every chance he got. Built sand castles, and buy ice cream from the little shack a ways away from the shore. He comforted me when mother fell ill, and gave me Anolani when I was lonely. He tried his best to be there for me, and you know what? I always treasured those moments the most, because that was when I believed the world to be beautiful place..."

I turned to face his anguish fully, feeling nothing but a sadness that pooled my heart. When he saw this, his fury had diminished completely, replaced with surprise and most of all, pity. Pity for me, to have lost a caring man, along with what innocence I had long ago. Riku even looked apologetic, an unusual on the normally stoic teenager. Behind him I could see Kairi was close to tears, and Sora, seeming to understand the feelings passing through me. Anolani gave me a sad smile from the crouch. After all, he was her father too, blood or not, and had raised her in the few short months that he had known her. She was given the same love I was given. No doubt, she felt the same, if not worse, about what happened to him, and wanted him back home safe and sound.

"However...," I continued, allowing few tears to shed, "It matters not what occurred in the past, but what you do in the present to bring about a greater future. And that's just what I'm going to do." I quickly walked back to the cockpit and sat down in the captain's chair, more tears falling as I checked our locations and reset our coordinates.

"We'll be docking in a few minutes, so I suggest taking a seat," I ordered into the speaker. When I received silence, I sighed and took a moment to rest my head, hiding the tears in my white lab coat.

_"The past can't be changed, I know that. But why do I wish...that I could change it? To have that sense of innocence again?"_


	5. The Mission

Woo! Made it to Chapter 5 without being run out of town! I feel so proud!

Major thanks to all my lovely followers (which is a lot of love for two people), especially my dear sister, who's been supporting me all the way!

The last chapter sort of set the stage for the rest of the story, and you sort of get the idea of where this whole thing is going, right? Good ^^ if not, oh well :p Mind you this chapter will be a lot shorter, but no worries! You'll see a lot more action once the team sets off!

And of course, I don't own Kingdom Hearts -.- it would be totally epic if I did though :3

* * *

5. The Mission

_Daddy says Lani and I are special kids, but I don't know why. We go to his room everyday to play because he never leaves anymore. One time, when Lani and I were drawing together on his desk, when we touched each other, I got a really warm feeling. Lani said she felt the same way I did. When we told daddy about it, he said to try again. He looked really happy for some reason. It was the first smile I've seen in a long time since mommy went away. I wanted to keep him smiling. Keep making him happy. So we did, but this time, a bright light came from our hands. It stung at first, but then I felt warm again. This made daddy really happy, and now he wanted us in his lab everyday to see where this light came from. _

_I'll do anything for daddy. Anything to make him happy like mommy did..._

* * *

"Hey Mavis? Mickey and the others are waiting for you!" Voiced the ever optimistic Keyblade Master, startling me from my spot beneath one of the many trimmed bushes in the king's bright courtyard.

With a slight sigh of contempt, already irritated from my recent task, I stood, slipping my lab coat from my shoulder and replied, "I'll be there in a minute! Perhaps you can help me with something."

Curious, Sora leaped over the railing and came to my side, "Whatcha need?"

"You see, I'm having a bit of trouble with my arm," I explained, unwrapping the gauze that protected it from the open air, revealing charred skin and blackened tissue from my shoulder to the knuckles of my fingers. The blue eyed boy winced at the damage.

"Whoa..."

"I have to change the bandages to prevent it from getting infected, and being right handed doesn't make it any easier," I said with a slight hiss in my tone, "you don't mind, do you?"

"O-Of course not! Here, let me help," Sora took the fresh gauze I had left on the ground and began to carefully wrap my arm as gentle as possible, eyes shooting from my arm to my face with a flustered look, "so...why can't you use magic to heal it? I'm sure one of Donald's cure spells can have this fixed up in no time."

I shook my head, "It won't have any effect on me. Anolani and I are impervious to most mortal magic, so we have to heal the old fashion way."

"Heh, so much for being 'all powerful guardians'," Sora chuckled darkly, a smile tugging his lips as he taped the ends of my fingers. I returned the gesture with a smirk of my own.

"I guess you could say that. Still it does have its benefits," I said with a shrug and observed his work, "Knowing how the worlds work and such. Kind of filling, I guess," I tugged on my lab coat over my arm and nodded towards the hall, "Come on. We'd better meet with the others. There's a lot I need to explain."

Together the two of us exited the garden and ventured down the expansive corridor towards the king's library in silence. To say the air was awkward was an understatement. After the incident in the ship, Sora, Kairi and Riku mostly kept their distance; Anolani as well to give me time to cool off. While the others exchanged greetings and mass tacklings, I had escaped to the courtyard, hoping to have some quiet and peace of mind; however, I've never noticed before how unsettling it was to be alone in silence, with only the wind to hum a tune in your ear, so part of me was grateful to having Sora at my side. Although, after the day's events, I guess I frightened him off.

Which sort of explains why Sora's not as talkative and looking in every direction with a nervous countenance.

"Listen, Sora," I sighed, pausing in the middle of the hall by the audience chamber, eyes to the floor. Sora stopped in his tracks, looking back at me, a little startled I had stopped in the middle of our walk. "I know I probably intimidated you earlier on the shuttle. Most of what I said was...a little threatening..."

"A little threatening?" The Keybearer replied with a sly smirk. This I couldn't help but giggle at. It looked so unnatural on the boy's face.

"Hehe, alright, so a lot threatening," I laughed, combing my fingers through my purple tresses, "but you've got to understand that-"

"I know, you don't trust keys after what happened to your dad," Sora cut me off, a hand gingerly placed on my shoulder. A comical grin stretched his cheeks, "That's why I'm gonna try and change that! You'll see! Not everyone with a Keyblade is evil, and I'm gonna prove it to you!" He clenched his gloved fist and fiery determination lighting his azure orbs.

Well this is a first...I'm completely speechless. Sora was dead set on this, and there was nothing I can do that'll change his one track mind. I'll admit, I'm very impressed. Not everyone could change my mind, and Sora had made a declaration to do so during this little adventure. Let's see if he's up to the challenge.

With a clever smirk, I reached up and ruffled his soft chestnut spikes, getting a groan of protest from the blue eyed Keyblade master, "We'll see about that, Spikey. But I'll warn you," I walked a couple steps ahead, and turned with a coy wink, "I'm a bit of a challenge."

I didn't give him time to recover, and after seeing the brief blush speckled his cheeks, I paced confidently into the library, ignoring the confused looks of my potential teammates.

Mickey sat at the lone desk in the center of the room while the others were scattered about, standing in small groups (Goofy and Anolani by the bookcases and Riku, Kairi, and Donald beside Mickey's desk). When Anolani caught my smug look, her faced brightened.

"I know that look!" The guard said with a knowing beam, "Someone challenged you!"

"Why, I know nothing of the sort," I said innocently, a slick gleam in my eyes.

"Hey, where'd Sora go?" Kairi pondered, looking around the room, "We sent him to get you a while ago."

I chuckled and made my way towards the computer, "Probably still in the hallway, babbling like an idiot."

Riku and Kairi both looked to each in confusion, then looked to Anolani, who still had a grin plastered on her face.

"You don't wanna know," the guardian, Donald and Goofy included, said in unison.

* * *

"Alright, fellas! Now that everyone's here," Mickey stood up in front wit h Anolani and I flanking his sides, face turning serious, "I'm sure everyone knows the situation already, but Princess Mavis and Anolani didn't come down here just because of Nil."

"That's right! We need your keys for a very important mission!" Anolani said with a beam, "Think you're up for it?"

"We'll take on anything you throw at us!" Sora said for the lot, Riku and Kairi nodding in agreement.

"Then this should be a breeze for you," I smirked with arms crossed over my chest, "Not long before Nil's attack on Chronos Cay, I went to inspect the Memory Lanes. What came up was a bit unsettling."

"Some of the lanes were infected with bugs! Not cutesy butterflies or anything. Like crazy, whacked out viruses!" The cheerful girl described.

"I have reason to believe that Nil is using the Heartless to infect the Memory Lanes and steal the memories from them," I continued, "Each memory that's created in the Memory Lane has a light born with it. Not as strong as heart's light, but close enough."

"And because Nil likes to eat the light, he'd want to collect all the memory for himself!" Goofy said, mug brightening in realization.

I nodded in agreement, "Exactly right, Goofy."

"Every Memory Lane is connected to the heart of every world a Keybearer has touched, so if the Heartless start to infect the whole path, that world could be in real big trouble!" Anolani said with a scolding tone.

"This is where you three come in. You see, normally we have precautions for these sort of situations. After Nil's attack, many years afterward, I thought of creating a security system to help protect the lanes from outside sources. I named them the Inklings, machines created from missing pieces of memory long forgotten. However, no matter what I do, I can't seem to contact any of them. I believe Nil might have tampered with them in some way."

"How could Nil get to them of the lanes are connected to the heart of every world?" Riku asked, "Only the Keyblade can unlock them."

At this I smirked and removed my glasses, allowing my once foggy irises to flare a blinding white before returning them to their normal hue, "It's all in the eyes."

"Whoa, how'd you do that?" Kairi wondered, her two companions looking on in amazement.

"Everyone in my family who is a descendant of Father Time is given the Eyes of Time," I explained, "Because the Memory Lanes are sacred pathways, they can only be revealed through the eyes of a family member."

"And because Nil is technically Father Time, he can unlock the Memory Lanes," Anolani finished with a nonchalant shrug.

"Because of the Heartless leaking into the Hearts of worlds," Mickey stated from his desk, "we need you along with Anolani to guide Mavis to each infected keyhole."

"From there, I'll open the path to the Memory Lane, allowing you to enter the stream of memory and get rid of the Heartless inside. Afterward, we need to locate the Inkling in charge. There are only five in each sector, so if we don't find one, we search somewhere else until we find it, and figure out the problem."

"Just be careful! If even a tiny speck of memory is messed with, someone's timeline could be wrecked for good!" Anolani warned, wagging her finger with a sly smirk.

I copied her look and eyed Sora in particular, "And considering the more recent Memory Lanes were crafted only months ago by a certain Keyblade Master, I suggest you don't screw up too badly," I gave an innocent smile and tilted my head, "No pressure right?"

"Uhhh...eheh, right," the young boy was nervously rubbing through his hair while most everyone eyed him with serious looks.

"Good! Mickey, Donald, and Goofy will monitor our progress as we go along," I explained, and asked the King, "What is closest world in this sector?"

"It looks like Tranverse Town," Goofy read off the monitor.

"Great! Then let's hurry up and find ourselves a keyhole!" Anolani said, summoning her red glossed pistols with a crazed look in her eyes.

"This should be fun," I replied, summoning my golden gauntlets, clenching them and enjoying the feeling of electricity flowing between my fingertips.

_"Why do I get the feeling we should be more scared of them than the Heartless?"_ The three worried teenagers thought the same while watching the two guardians eye their weapons with looks of insanity glossing their eyes.


	6. Trouble in Traverse Town

Hope everyone had a great holiday! It's been awhile since I've updated, so I hope most of you were patient ^^ it took a while to complete because I had to rewrite the entire thing twice, so hopefully this will turn out well!

Chapter six will start off with our lovely team paying a visit in good ol' Traverse Town! It will show how the KH gang will react to Mavis and Anolani's...unique, fighting styles. ^^" Whether it'll scar them for life or help them save the worlds, you shall soon find out!

Let me give my thanks to all those reading along, especially to my dear sister (who I apologize for the other day! I didn't know the Song of Storms would actually work! T^T)

I do not own Kingdom Hearts! But we all have dreams, don't we?

* * *

6. Trouble in Traverse Town

I remember a time when I could just lay on my back and stare up at the numerous stars that speckled the sky, not having to worry about a thing in the world. It seems so far away now; with life passing me by so quickly, I never noticed how often I work. What with the Memory Lanes to protect, the Inklings to guide, and my own scientific research, I haven't taken the time to stop and admire the simple things in life. Star gazing was a pastime I've missed dearly.

As I sat back in the captain's chair of the Gummi ship, lazily propping my feet up on the controls and laying my head back to fall into my propped arms against the seat cushions, my opaque forest eyes darted across the clear dome of the cockpit lid to try and count the billions of twinkling lights suspended in space. True, it would be a hopeless endeavor to try and count the stars, but I always found joy in a good challenge. There was just no limit to them, which made the game all the more fun. I remember Anolani and I would have contests to see who could count the most before mother would drag us home, or one of us would fall asleep trying to out count the other. Of course, Anolani would win most of the time because she could count farther but I always loved the chance of beating her at least once.

Speaking of Anolani, a strangled snore erupted from the co-pilot's seat and turning slightly, I watched as the raven haired girl slept peacefully with her head tucked into the crooks of her arms and antenna twitching ever so slightly with each intake of breath. Sometimes I wonder where I would be if it weren't for her. I wouldn't dare admit it, but I honestly wouldn't be where I am today if Anolani weren't by my side. Ever since we met that day several years ago, we've been inseparable, joined at the hip, like we were born of the same womb.

Even the day we met was still fresh in my mind...

* * *

_ "Who's there!?" Daddy yelled, holding a flashlight and sharp knife in his hand towards the open refrigerator while mommy held onto me, her violet hair covering me from seeing the accused bandit. It was so early when mommy had woken me up saying there was someone in our castle, and I was still trying to rub the sleep from my eyes. Both of us were in our nightgowns while daddy was in his robe. _

_When the robber stepped away from the fridge, daddy and mommy let out a sudden gasp and he dropped the knife in surprise. I peeked from behind mommy's hair to see why they were so frozen when I saw a little girl holding a whole loaf of bread in her arms and a piece of cheese hanging from her mouth. _

_ She looked a lot older than me, with short, messy black hair and big red eyes. She looked really dirty; her plain red shirt looked too big for her and was covered in dirt spots, and her long tan pants were ripped in several places. Even her face was dirty and covered in small cuts. _

_Daddy knelt down to get a closer look at the little girl and laughed a bit at his unneeded fright, "Well now, what do we have here. Why hello there, little one. What brings you here?"_

_The little girl refused to say a word, her eyes looking frightened of daddy. I wonder why. Daddy is really nice. He wouldn't hurt her. _

_Seeing this, daddy smiled and asked, "Are you hungry? We have plenty of food. All you have to do is ask."_

_"P-Please, mister," the girl's voice cracked, the cheese dropping from her mouth, "Can I have some food? I'm really hungry."_

_It didn't take long for mommy and daddy to make a really early breakfast. I was placed next to the little girl, and watched her as she practically inhale her plate, asking for more with syrup covered cheeks. Mommy only laughed and filled her plate as demanded._

_"You have quite the appetite!" Mommy giggled, "I don't think we caught your name."_

_"My name is Anolani, ma'am!" The girl replied happily after she consumed her third plate._

_"That's a really pretty name, Anolani," daddy said with a smile, "if you don't mind me asking, where are your parents?"_

_"I dunno, sir," Anolani replied with a grin, "They went away a long time ago. But they promised to come back for me when they could!" _

_Even I could hear the uncertainty in her tone. While mommy and daddy whispered on the other side of the table, I noticed something weird, more specifically the two red strands sticking out from the top of her head. _

_Reaching over, I gently tugged on the short antenna, getting a curious loom from Anolani, and looks of shock from mommy and daddy._

_"Mavis! Now you know better than to-!" My mommy's scolding was cut off by Anolani's laughter, followed soon by my own. _

_"Come on! Hahaha! Cut it out!" She cried playfully, only making it harder for me to stop. Mommy and daddy looked surprise. They've never her me laugh like that before. Something about Anolani brought out the child in me. Like her being there with me made the air seem lighter, more cheerful. _

_And later that night, they made a decision that certainly changed my life forever._

* * *

"Heh, you know, I could never figure out if those blasted things were real or not," I spoke with a slight giggle, watching the antenna flicker every few seconds.

The small moment of silence that enveloped the air was suddenly interrupted by the opening of the back door and heavy, downtrodden footsteps. Kicking my feet up, I swirled the chair around and was surprised to find Riku standing by the door, his eyes glued to the floor.

Raising an eyebrow, I stood and pondered, "What are you doing in here? I know we're suppose to be landing soon, but there's still time to relax a while."

"I know, I just...," the silver haired boy trailed off, never meeting me in the eyes once, "Sora and Kairi are asleep and..."

"Ah! Say no more," I said, jutting a thumb at my sleeping sister, "Anolani fell asleep hours ago, so we have a few minutes of peace and quiet."

"R-Right...," Riku stammered, trailing into an awkward silence. He wouldn't meet my eyes once. His mind was probably still wrapped in our earlier altercation, and he seemed reluctant to even speak. To be candid, I had forgotten the entire argument until just now. I'm not seeing why he would let such a thing be a bother.

Cocking a brow, I pondered with a tilt of my head, "Was there something you needed? You look put out."

The shock on his face was priceless, and would've snapped a photo if I had a camera on hand. Turning back to the computer screen, I checked our coordinates and punched in a few numbers while he tripped over his words.

"W-What!? But you-! I-I-! W-We-!"

"One word at a time. I don't speak idiot," I said casually, eyes stuck on the screen.

"Y-You're not the least bit upset with me!?"

"About what exactly? My memory's a tad foggy." Oh, how I love to tease this boy.

"That fight! I called you Heartless! Cold!? Ring any bells!?" I can see the smoke rising from his skull.

"Oh yeah. No, it doesn't really bother me."

"You're not mad?"

"Nope."

"Not going to swear vengeance on me?"

"Nuh uh."

"So you're just gonna forget it ever happened!?"

"Wow, you catch on fast," I rolled my eyes, pulling away from the screen and facing Riku with a bored look.

"B-But after everything I said-!"

"Exactly," I cut him off, pointing at him with a slight smirk, watching his aquamarines twinkle confusion. I explained further.

"That's the thing, Riku. It's everything you said, your opinions. Your own personal thoughts. You were simply stating your own opinion of me and my choices," I explained, approaching the dark keybearer and poking his chest for good measure, "You actually believed that I'd be affected by simple minded opinions? I'm not some prissy princess, you know. I can take a hit and throw it back ten fold. Let it go, will you?"

"How can you? After everything I said. I was way out of line," Riku said, with a doubtful look in his eye.

I huffed and shook my head, "We may say things that aren't meant to be said, or do things that aren't meant to be done," I shot him a knowing look, "You of all people should know that better than anyone, considering your past experiences."

The silver haired boy lowered his head, recognition building in his eyes and shoulders slumping. "I know."

"However, we must learn to live with the mistakes, and not let it haunt our present," I explained with a small grin, "Learn to let things fall into place, and if you approach a bump in the road, keep on treading."

It may have been faint, or a trick of the light, but I could promise I saw his lips curl just the slightest bit.

"You know, me and you are a lot alike. You managed to find your way out of the darkness find your road to light, yet you find yourself haunted by the ghosts of the past; while I'm just starting out in the darkness that I had created and plan to destroy, and yet, I can't seem to find the path that fits me just right," I said with a small shrug. Even my heart felt heavy just saying it, knowing the truth behind the words. I felt insecure, didn't trust myself with what might happen in the near future. Will I be able to face Nil again? Is my light truly gone? Will we even make it there?

...Will I be able to survive the fight?

A heavy pale hand gripped my shoulder gently, and I found myself looking into deep sea green. "Then let's try finding that road together." The small smile on his face was infectious.

"The road to light?"

"The road to redemption."

I don't think my grin could've been bigger. With a light slap, Riku and I joined hands and shook. A mutual friendship between two unlikely rivals formed by a single goal.

* * *

Traverse Town was a quiet place forced under an eternal nightfall, and was used as a refuge for those that have lost their homes to the Heartless. Above, the stars twinkled in the vast navy blue sky, and in the town below, all seemed quiet. People strolled to and fro through the first district, and many of the shops were open, selling their wares to anyone who cared to stop by. The streets were lit with the occasional lamp post.

Anolani was the first to break the silence between us, yawning and stretching herself out, "Alright! Let's get searching! What should we do first?"

"Well, everything looks okay to me," Kairi said, indigo eyes scanning the First District with a careful eye, "There isn't a single Heartless around here."

"They're usually in the other districts. But everything does look quiet," Sora pondered with the same curiosity, "Maybe it was a false alarm."

"That can't be, this was on the list of worlds that have been infected," I said, turning to the group with a thoughtful look, "Let's have a look around before we go for the keyhole. Anything can happen with an infected Memory Lane."

"Then we should split up," Riku suggested, "Anolani and I will check the Second District, and you guys check the Third. We'll meet back here in an hour to check the keyhole."

"Great, then let's do this!" Sora cheered and stuck his hand in the center of our group. Seeing where this was going, Kairi and Riku followed suit with grins on their faces, then turned towards us with expectant looks.

"Come on! Join in!" Sora pleaded with a grin.

Anolani beamed and joined the team, "Come on, Mavis! You need to complete the circle!"

"As ridiculous as this looks," I mumbled, then put my hand in the center, "eh, the hell with it." I followed through with a smirk.

Sora's grin widened, "Alright! Together!"

"All for one, and one for all!"

_Why did I agree to this again?_

* * *

"Aw! There's no action around here!" Anolani whined for the umpteenth time since entering the Second District, stretching out the last word for emphasis and her antenna drooping.

"I know I've asked this already, but isn't that supposed to be a good thing?" Riku pondered, feeling tired from being around the hyperactive guard for more than twenty minutes.

It's a wonder Mavis keeps her sanity with her around.

She turned around and put her hips on her hips with a pout, "Well, yeah! But I'm bored! I haven't seen any action since we left Chronos Cay! I'm aching to use my guns right now."

"The more you say that, the more I'm afraid you're going to jinx us," the dark warrior replied as they strolled down the stairs to the lower part of the Second District with an exasperated sigh. Again they found nothing out of the ordinary and carefully approached the fountain near the entrance. Water gushed from the spouts on the edge and the center sat a stone mosaic, beautifully decorated with stone shapes. The two stood in silence, watching with thought filled eyes. Behind this was the keyhole to this world, and with it, so many possibilities. Who knows what they would find on the other side?

"So, this is where a keyhole would be? In plain sight?" Anolani inquired with a tilt of the head, "Won't that be a little dangerous? Anyone could find it."

"You're asking the wrong person about that," Riku replied with a shrug, "we don't decide where they go. No one does."

"Huh, weird."

"There doesn't seem to be anything here, so let's check the alleyways or-" As the silverette began to map out their next route, the earth beneath them shook, shattering the once tranquil air. Both warriors planted their feet firmly on the ground and summon their weapons with fierce expressions; Riku held his Way to Dawn tightly in his hand, and Anolani gripped her red tinted pistols, named Hope and Despair, at her side's with an excited grin.

"What was that!?" The grinning guard asked, scanning around for the source, ready for a fight, "No way that could've been normal!"

Riku didn't respond right away, for his gaze was set on the fountain, which had suddenly stopped flowing water minutes before the shock. He watched as the center piece spun around, slowly at first before picking up speed, spraying water as it turned. Then as it finally slowed to a stop, what was shown had surprised him.

When Anolani turned towards him with a curious look, her eyes locked with a frightening sight and her grin fell from her lips, "Whoa..."

"W-What happened to the Keyhole!?"

The sight would scare even the great Wizard Yen Sid if he had been there. In front of them lay the mythical keyhole, yet it appeared as though it had been shattered. Cracks, glowing a sickly green littered the edges and in the dark hole, one could see the darkness dripping out of it and touching the ground in subtle drops.

"I'm guessing a keyhole doesn't normally do that," Anolani said with a seriousness that could rival Mavis'.

"We have to tell the others!" Riku announced, but the two were cut off by another quake, this time, coming directly from the tainted keyhole. Looking at the corrupt heart, Riku and Anolani tightened their grip on their weapons as they sensed a great power coming from it. They ignored the score of Heartless that began to appear around them and trapped the two in a circle of claws, and prepared themselves for whatever came.

However, what they saw crawl from the keyhole made their blood run cold.


	7. Traverse Town Part 2: Missing Memory

Chapter 7 coming right up! And boy will this one be a doozy!

This will be pretty brief, but I hope it turns out pretty well ^^ To all those who read the last chapter, love ya! Couldn't do it without ya!

Ahem...I DO NOT OWN KINGDOM HEARTS! But we all have dreams...

* * *

7. Missing Memory

"Anyone else feel that?" I asked, stopping mid-step at the stairs leading to the center of the Third District. A cold shiver shot up my spine, a natural sign that something was amiss. The scent of darkness suddenly became more potent, clouding the rest my senses as if some sort of poisonous gas. Looking back at the two Keybearers, I nearly rolled my eyes at their clueless faces.

"Feel what?" Sora asked, his countenance displaying clear confusion. Kairi stood beside him bearing the same expression, only with a slight head tilt.

I turned back to the colorful structure of the Third District, eyes narrowing to slits, "Something's not right, I can feel it. The smell of darkness suddenly became stronger."

"Uh oh! Maybe we should check on Riku and Anolani," Kairi said worriedly.

"We'll check on them after we search this district," I said, heading for the steps, "They can take of themselves for the time being. If anything goes wrong, Anolani knows how to contact me."

"How?"

With a small smirk, I rested a hand over my chest and murmured, "Trust me. She knows how."

We took careful steps into the center in the Third District and kept our eyes peeled for danger. Sora had summoned his Oathkeeper, eyes inspecting the area with the sudden skill of a master, and Kairi gripped her flowery Keyblade, posture stiff with determination. I didn't think that Kairi had any experience in the field of battle, but I was willing to let her try, just so long as she doesn't get herself killed and runs if she sees she's struggling. It was a simple compromise we came up with to keep Sora from freaking out. Having to protect two princesses can sure put pressure on a guy, apparently.

"Stay sharp!" I barked, summoning my gauntlets as a round of twelve Heartless encircled us with claws ready to strike. A current of electricity passed through my knuckles and discharged in the air around me.

"You guys ready for this!?" Sora encouraged with a grin.

"Just shut up and fight!" I shouted and plowed my fist into the first Soldier I laid eyes on, then watched as the lightening enveloped the small Heartless and disintegrate it to mere puffs of ash. Sora and Kairi looked on in amazement for a few moments before launching themselves into the battle.

Sora moved swiftly between each wave of enemies, letting loose a triumphant battle cry after a Heartless was slain and moving with the skills of a veteran. I'll be candid, I was impressed by his style and skill, and even more so with Kairi's ability to hold her own against these heart stealing creatures. It went on like this for several minutes, and with every slated monster, two more would appear in its place, much to my annoyance. We were now trapped in a sea of Heartless with no way out.

"This is getting us nowhere!" I shouted, sending another Heartless into black smoke.

"What do we do!? We can't keep this up forever!" Kairi said while blocking an attack from above.

I pondered a moment as the three of us gathered back to back, and suddenly came up with a plan, "Sora! Do you remember the Thunder spell!?"

"I think so!" Sora replied with a curious look.

"Good! Now when I say, I need you to aim your spell towards me, and Kairi when that happens, get as far away from me as possible!"

"What!? That's crazy! Won't that hurt you!?" Sora looked on with a worried face.

"If you don't do it, I swear the Heartless will be the least of your problems!" I scolded in a threatening tone, "so just do it!"

Sora was quick to shut his mouth and nod, and Kairi ran towards the stairs for higher ground. After taking a couple starting breaths, raised my hands into the air, charging them with bolts of lightning. I could feel the warmth of the currents and sparks from every bolt. The wind picked up greatly, and carried the discharge around my body in a vortex. Once my gauntlets were glowing white, I called to Sora on standby.

"Now, Sora!"

With a fast nod of the head, the young keybearer held his keyblade high and yelled, "Thunder!" And sent a bolt of lightning down upon my hands like a rod in a storm.

I flinched slightly at the sudden intake of power and faltered a bit when the gauntlets felt heavier than before and the light became brighter than my eyes could take. But still I rose with soft steps and planted my feet firmly into the cement and clenched my fists tight. I ignored the burning feeling in my right palm, and with one might strike to the ground, I called in voice that's sure to send shivers.

_"Incursu Unda!"_

I screamed louder as the electricity left my body and filtered into the ground, coming off in large waves and feeling its sparks burn my skin. Sora jumped away just in time before the shocks could touch him and looked on flabbergasted as the legion of Heartless was annihilated with every pulse. Kairi peeked from behind the staircase, seeming frightened. My pain-filled screams shook her very core. Once the light let me, I toppled to the ground, Sora running and catching me just before my body could touch the cement.

I heaved in a gracious amount of air as the blue eyed boy went to rest me on my back, using his arm to cradle me.

"Mavis!" The princess cried when she knelt at my side, hands over her mouth as though to prevent a terrified scream from leaving.

"I-I'm...I'm fine," I stammered, still shaking with bits of electricity flicking off my skin, "Just n-need...to r-rest a ...minute..."

"What was that, Mavis?" Sora asked, anxiously looking over me for wounds or burns, "That move you did... it was hurting you!"

I rolled my eyes, "_Incursu Unda_: Shock Wave. N-Normally my body...c-can take in... l-large a-amounts of electricity...b-better than...th-than others. _Incursu U-Unda..._ is a p-power...I-I rarely use...to use m-myself...a-as I lightning rod...and redirect it into th-the ground. I've only u-used it t-twice so far. Usually...the damage is minimal, but...I-I'm afraid...," I glanced down at my burned right arm, tears pooling my eyes, "I may never use...my right arm again..."

"Don't be silly! There's gotta be a way to fix it!" Sora said. A smile stretched his cheeks but I could hear the panic in his voice. Slowly I sat up, Sora keeping his hand to my back to keep me steady.

"No...," I shook my head, the jolts finally gone, pain only throbbing in my right arm, "Before I met you all...I fought against Nil and his army on Chronos Cay. I thought if I used _Incursu Unda, _I could render him powerless. But somehow he found a way to redirect my lightning back at me, with ten times the power, and laced with his darkness. I thought if I used it again, the darkness will cause just as much damage as it did before."

"Why did you do that?" Kairi tenderly touched my arm, which had gone numb for the moment, "You didn't have to."

With a smirk, I got to my feet and leaned against Sora for balance, "If I told you, I'll never hear the end of it. Just let it pass and let's continue our-"

I was cut off by a yelp of pain and turned back to see Sora gripping his head and pulling at his hair, eyes scrunched.

"Sora!" Kairi called worriedly.

"Sora, what's wrong!?" I demanded of him.

He didn't answer right away, for he was floored to his knees after another wave of pain, Kairi and I flanking his sides.

"My head!...I-I can't...! I can't!" Sora spoke in broken syllables.

"Wait! Sora, look at me!" I called, holding his face in my hand and prying his fingers out of his hair.

"B-But I-!"

"Shut up, and look at me! Just focus on my touch!" I commanded, fingers pressing into his temple.

"Mavis, what's wrong with Sora!?" Kairi held a now calm yet flinching Sora by the arms and shoulders.

"His memories are being drawn out by force."

"But how!?"

"Sora, tell me what you see," I spoke calmly in a tone almost motherly, the palm of my left hand glowing somewhat.

"I-It hurts!" The young boy grieved, squeezing Kairi's offered hand in comfort.

"I know it does. But it'll go away once you tell me what you see," I replied, closing my eyes and waiting for the images to flood in.

After several moments of breathing and waiting, Sora managed to speak, his pain lessening some. "O-Okay...I-I see...myself...I'm in Traverse Town. It's my first time leaving the island..."

An image of a young boy appeared in my mind. He is standing in the middle of the Third District.

"And then...now I see Donald! And Goofy too! They fell on me...and then...then," Sora struggled to get the words and I pressed my fingers harder into his temple.

"Tell me, Sora. What did you see?" I urged him, the feel of his memory becoming weaker.

"I-I saw...it was...a Heartless! A-A big one too!" Sora replied, and as the glow of my palm began to fade, so did his pain, "Now...I-I can't remember...I can't remember any of it! Not even how I first got here!"

"Sora, stay calm, okay?" I said soothing as Kairi helped him up.

"W-Why can't I remember anything!?" Sora cried, frightened out of his wits, "Everything about this place is a blank now!"

"Nil is stealing parts of your memory from the Memory Lane," I replied, carefully taking his hand in my own, "But don't worry, we'll find a way to get it back, alright?"

Sora looked into my eyes, and beneath his oceanic orbs, I saw his fear. I saw his confusion. I saw his hope dwindle, but for only a moment before his hope trumped it all. I prayed something like this wouldn't happen. I was afraid that if any of Sora's memory were stolen or tampered with, he would lose the will to fight. And yet, I found it surprising to see a spark of hope flicker in his eyes. He wasn't going down without a fight, with or without his memory. Maybe I did peg him wrong.

With a swift nod, Sora was back on his feet, ready to take on the world. If only this bright outlook could've lasted longer. Minutes after Sora's brief episode, an explosion near the Second District sent us to the floor, and heart froze a moment when a familiar voice rang in my ears.

_Mavis! Hurry! We n-need help...! Mavis!_

"Anolani!"


	8. Hybrid

Decline n, one and all! To chapter 8 of To Hold in the Mind! I would like to thank everyone who's reading along; I would give you all pet Heartless if I could!

This chapter will introduce a new type of enemy, as well as an old one. How will the crew handle it with Mavis out of commission? Find out now!

Now imagine that last sentence said in a deep, throaty voice. Yeah, epic huh?

I do not own Kingdom Hearts! Though it kills me a little to know it T^T

* * *

8. Hybrid

I don't think we could've sprinted faster if we tried. Finding our way to the Second District was easy enough, though the Heartless refused to give way as we ran. During the trek, my mind was on overdrive with every sting of my heart worrying me to the point of pulling my hair from my scalp. Anytime either Anolani or I were weakened, we will start feeling each other's pain physically because of the bond between our two hearts, and now that every part of my body started to ache, I pushed my legs to go further. I paid no mind to Sora and Kairi's worried cries, and turned the bend, hoping to see Anolani with Riku slightly unscathed.

What I saw next not only assured my worst fears, but intensified them.

"Anolani!" I cried out to the limp young girl in Riku's unsteady hands and tried running towards them when I sensed a strong darkness nearly crushed the air in my lungs, "Gah! W-What the-!" I took a knee and held a hand to my throat to try and ease air into my throat, but it seemed to surround my body; crawl up my skin and into my mouth to clog my airways.

"Mavis, hold on!" I heard Sora cry from one side of the newly formed brigade of Heartless, "We're coming!"

_W-What's...happening...t-to me!?... _I struggled to my feet, fighting the dark tendrils that rose from the ground and gripped my legs and arms. _Damn it all! Th-This...I-isn't the same darkness I faced! W-What did...Nil...ugh!_

I never felt a pull so strong in my lifetime, not ever from a darkness this strong. And it only seemed to affect Anolani and I, for Riku looked perfectly unharmed and untouched by this darkness, Sora and Kairi as well.

_Nil must want us as far away from the Keyhole as possible. So we can't get a chance to fix the Memory Lane. Normally his darkness is nothing to fear, but he must've done something to it to keep us at bay. The closer I get to the Keyhole, the stronger the power it has over me. We need to root out the source and destroy it so I can get close enough to the Keyhole to unlock the pathway. _

After the final Heartless was slain, the dark smoke weakened some, but still had a tight grip on my body, and from afar, the keyhole was revealed, billowing rivers of blackened darkness.

The two Keybearers behind me faltered after seeing the heart of Traverse Town so tainted. None of us, except I, made a move. I slowly stood, ignoring the occasional jolts of pain from the pitch tentacles, and approached Anolani and Riku as gingerly as I could without toppling from weak knees. As I drew closer, my heart further sink into the depths of my stomach; my beloved sister looked battle scarred and demolished. Cuts and bruises littered her tan cheeks, and three large lacerations cut from the right side to her stomach, ripping her shirt and staining it with crimson drops. The pain was immense, and I gripped my own uninjured side and sent thanks to the stars that Anolani was unconscious and didn't have to bear the pain herself.

"R-Ri...Riku...," I muttered, dropping my knees when I was close enough to touch my sister's delicate cheek. Riku was startled at first, but then took notice of the faint black air dripping off both our skins, mine increasing by the step.

"Mavis, what's happening to you? And Anolani!"

"Sora, Riku, Kairi, ...y-you three... need to fight o-on your own," I said with exhaustion, "Nil...h-he set this up...so we couldn't...c-come close to the Keyhole. His darkness...is holding us back... c-cutting off our power...the strength of o-our hearts..."

"Just tell us what to do! We'll handle it!" Kairi said, a fire lit in her eyes.

I cringed when another shock shot through me, and spoke again slowly, "Sora...unlock the Keyhole...th-that should reveal whatever is blasting that darkness... defeat it... then I'll do the rest..."

With an assured nod, the two boys of the group lifted my sister and I out of harm's way, Anolani in Riku's arms and Sora giving me his shoulder to rely on while Kairi made sure neither of them dropped or abused us. Once we were settled, my back to the wall and Anolani's head rested in my lap, the three Keybearers walked back to the Keyhole, ready to face whatever would come out.

A determined look crossed Sora's features as he rose his keyblade, and my eyes widened in awe at the beautiful sight. A light shot from the tip of the keyblade and its brilliance shined from the Keyhole, a barely audible click resonating throughout the area. The darkness, however, fell by the gallon by then, until a roar shook the ground they stood upon. No one moved an inch. Not a breath left anyone, even Anolani seemed to hold hers, sensing the battle about the start.

Then, just as my body began to shut down, a creature made its way out of the Keyhole. A purple gauntlet first, followed by an arm with faint glowing veins pulsing from the black, meaty skin, then a knight's helmet shut tight with sharp silver teeth and a flowing yellow tail at its peak. The creature stood tall on its hind legs and blew a roar so powerful, the wind sent body pressed against the wall.

Nothing scared me more than what I felt from that monster. That thing was not a Heartless, nor was one of Nil's followers. It was something worse.

_H-Hybrid..._

* * *

_Mommy! Mommy! What's that!?_

_Why, that's a star, Mavis. I thought you knew that already._

_I know what it is, mommy, but why is it falling? I thought they were suppose to stay where they are. _

_Well, that star is a special kind. A shooting star._

_A shooting star? Won't it fall on us?_

_Heh heh, of course not, Mavis. You make wishes on them._

_Is that one of your silly stories mommy? Will it even come true?_

_If you wish hard enough, and believe with all your heart, then anything you wish Will come true._

_Well...Then I wish for a friend! One that will always be with me, and play with me, and love me just like mommy and daddy do! We'll always be together! No matter what! _

_Now that's some wish. Can I ask why?_

_Because I always see people together. They always have someone with them. Even you and daddy have each other. I want someone too! I don't wanna be lonely anymore!_

* * *

Waking up in the middle of a battle was not the wake up call I had in mind. The feeling of darkness that had grounded me before felt lighter, almost gone in fact, and after a brief flash of light and a lasting roar of pain that nearly blinded me, all fell silent, and the darkness became nothing more than a trickle. I greedily gulfed down as much air as I could, only to stop mid-breath when white hot pain shot up my right arm and side, bringing tears in my eyes, and I struggled to keep a scream from leaving my mouth. _Anolani better be damn lucky she's unconscious and I'm taking all her pain with me! She owes me!_

Peeking an emerald orb at the trio of heroes ahead of me, my heart warmed slightly at the sight of their triumphant looks, then fell when another pang zapped my side. That time I couldn't hold in the whimper, and I drew the attention of the three Keybearers. Quick as the lightning I commanded, they were at my side in seconds, blue hues looking over our torn frames with worried glances.

"Good job...the darkness has lessened enough...for me to approach the Keyhole," I said, "Take me there. Then I'll do the rest."

Understanding the seriousness of the situation and trying to ignore the sharp intake of breaths I let escape as they lifted me, Sora and Kairi helped me to my feet while Riku lifted Anolani into his arms, and led me to the corrupted keyhole.

"This is good enough, you can let go," I said, claiming my arms and slowly standing tall, the burning of my wounds reduced to nothing, "stand at my side, so we can enter together."

Once everyone was in place, I carefully raised my left hand towards the Keyhole, and chanted in the ancient tongue of Chronos, eyes glowing white. _"Ex corde, plena immensum memoriae. Sapere ex animos annos. Tempus per oculos, portam ad mundi opes!"_

A warm pink glow emitted from the Keyhole, growing brighter and brighter until eventually our bodies were consumed by it, the sound of rusted gates opening as we were blinded.

When the light died down, the five of us found ourselves in a vacant place filled with a rainbow of colors that surrounded the space. Small glowing shards and prisms drifted idlely by without a care in the world, small voices echoing off as they past. Memories of those that came here. While the others watched on with awed faces, a soft light erupted from Anolani's body and dimmed on my arm. Soon the pain I felt on my body vanished, and the cuts on my sister had healed nicely, leaving scars in their place. My arm, however continued to burn with the darkness Nil inflicted upon it.

Opening her red eyes, Anolani looked around a moment in a daze, then said, much to my relief, "Whoa...did I get taller while I was out?" This scared the wits out of Riku, who was too busy admiring the scenery and dropped the raven-haired girl straight onto her back.

"Ow! Jeez! That's gonna hurt in the morning!" The cheery guard complained, rubbing her back side, the rest of us laughing at her discomfort. Even I got a chuckle out of it.

"So, this is a Memory Lane?" Kairi pondered looking at the sight and admiring the different shards as they passed by.

"Yes, this is where all the memory belonging to this world resides. More specifically, Sora's memory of arriving here."

"If it is, then how come I can't remember any of this?" Sora watched a memory shard float by with a sad look.

"One of you're most important memories were dragged out of you, a keystone memory I guess you could say. Without it, everything in this memory lane is proven useless," I explained, looking around for said memory, "You said, just before you forgot everything, that you, Donald and Goofy were fighting a giant Heartless..."

"Wait! I remember you telling me that story earlier on the ship!" Anolani chirped, "It was the day you met Donald and Goofy and set off on your adventure!"

"If we find the memory, Sora will remember everything he did in Traverse Town?" Riku inquired.

I nodded and started shifting through the shards looking for said memory, "For once, we agree on something, Riku. But it'll take forever just to find it..."

"Hold on, do you think," Kairi started and took out a blackened prism from her pocket and holding it out, "This could be it?"

"How long have you had that?" I asked, snatching the shard and examining it closely for scratches.

"It fell out of that giant monster after we defeated it. I don't know why I felt drawn to it. It seemed important."

Looking deeper into the prism, it was, in fact, the missing shard from Sora's memory. It played out the scene with Sora, Donald and Goofy fighting a large purple knight-like Heartless similar to the one guarding the Keyhole. Suddenly it all started to click. With a simple touch of the hand, I obliterated the darkness residing in the crystal and sent it along the path with the rest of the shards.

Sora perked up a moment, a goofy grin stretching his cheeks, "Hey! I remember now! Everything's coming back to me!"

"Good, because I think I've figured out what Nil tried to do."

"Well, spit it out!" Riku said impatiently.

Rolling my eyes, I explained, "Nil wasn't trying to take the keystone memory. He wasn't even trying to mess with Sora in the first place. Everything he's done so far has been aimed at Anolani and I."

"What!?" The cheery guard cried out, "that's crazy! That's nuts! That's crazy nuts! That's...actually it makes sense," she stopped her rant and held a finger to her chin.

"He sent the Heartless in armies to take us off guard, and because we were separated, it left us weak for an attack. He knew I'd be force to use _ Incursu Unda _when things got rough, thus immobilizing my arm. And because Anolani and I aren't used to so much darkness at that potency, it weakened us. Nil's darkness was mixed with that of the Heartless, so that amount could've killed us."

"Oh yeah, and that monster we fought wasn't a Heartless at all! It was...something else," Sora said uncertain.

"That's because it was a hybrid, morphed from the Guard Armor and one of Nil's followers. That's why Nil wanted the Memory. He wanted the Heartless to keep us out."

"Ugh, so confuuusiing!" Anolani whined, pulling her antenna.

I sighed, "Basically, Nil is trying to kill us so we don't reach the Keyholes in time."

"Oh, now I get it!"

"And looks like no one else is in here," Kairi said, "so that means there's no Inkling around."

"It could be in another world in this sector. Let's head back and report to the king. He'd like to know about this."

* * *

"Mavis! Get back here and let me finish your arm!"

"It's fine in the sling! Lay off!"

"At least let me put it in a cast! The skin's practically falling off! Just let me-"

"No way in hell! I see that needle!"

"Just one shot and I'm done! Maybe even a cast or two!"

"Get the hell away from me you psychopath!"

"That is no way to talk to your sissy! Now get back here and let me finish!"

"Like hell I will!" I sprinted around the cockpit, dodging Anolani's attempts at jabbing a syringe into my right arm, which was currently wrapped in a sling. _This woman is relentless!_

"You can't hide from me forever!" Anolani cried, after I launched into another run down the hall, dodging a confused and amused Sora and Kairi.

Turning into the nearest room, I ran in without looking and shut the door just before Anolani turned the corner. Pressing my ear to the door, I listened as Anolani shouted profanities and march on pass the door. With a sigh I slid to the floor and leaned back, only to be startled with yet another voice.

"Never thought you'd be the one afraid of needles."

"Shut up, Riku, I'm not afraid of needles," I growled, getting to my feet and eyeing the young boy lounging lazily on his futon, a sly grin plastered on his face, "Anolani isn't the best medic if you haven't noticed."

"Like you are?"

"I dabble, which is more than what I can say about you."

"Hey, I happen to know how to heal people! I do it all the time!"

"Lifting a sword, and shouting 'Cure' doesn't count."

"But it works, doesn't it?"

"If you find a way to make it work on me, then we'll talk. But I digress. I needed to talk to you anyway and now seems like a good time to do it."

The silver-haired boy raised his brows in surprise and sat up with a questioning gaze. "About what?"

_Here goes my pride...and my dignity..._ I grumbled in my mind before swallowing and looking at him in the eyes with a graciousness in my tone, "I wanted to uh,...thank you, for protecting Anolani. Without you being there, she...She wouldn't be standing here right now. She's all I've got left, you know, and I guess...I sort of owe you one for saving her life. So, um, thank you, Riku. I am truly grateful."

A small silence followed, and Riku's jaw had dropped to the floor in shock.

Angered and flustered by the heat rising in my cheeks, I stammered, "Q-Quit giving me that look! Don't think it'll change anything, alright? It's just rude for a princess not to give thanks to those who've done her a good deed! So don't milk it, okay!"

"You're welcome," Riku said calmly and a serene smile curling his lips. _Damn it! Why is my face still burning! _

"Aha! Found you!" Anolani's cheerful voice and the door slamming open caused me to yelp. The ebony haired girl went silent, eyeing the two of us, more particularly the red in my cheeks, then an innocent grin made me shudder.

"Sorry for interrupting you two love birds, so I'll just go!"

"LOVE BIRDS!?"

And thus another chase began, this time with Riku and I chasing a giggling Anolani through the hold of the ship.

* * *

Sora and Kairi watched with amused eyes as the three shot passed them, leaving a trail of dust in their wake.

"You know, I always thought that'd be you they were chasing," the red head said with a giggle in her tone.

"I'm just glad it's not me for a change. Running is exhausting," Sora said, then the two laughed when they heard a not so subtle thud and groans of protest and smiled at Anolani who beared a victorious beam.

"Jump tackle?"

"Jump tackle."


	9. Radiant Garden

Hello everyone! Chapter nine is up and running! I hope you all enjoy! I would like to thank all who have been following along, especially my lovely followers! And now to light the disclaimer torch!

I do not own Kingdom Hearts! Just dream of it :3 oh yeah, and I'm sure my little sister will get a kick out of this one. She and Mavis a lot in common ^^ you'll see What I mean soon enough :p

* * *

9. Radiant Garden

"We'll be docking in Radiant Garden in a few minutes. Has anything come up in the Memory Lanes recently, your majesty?" I pondered through the radio built into the ship.

_"Nothing yet. Just the same ol' bugs running around causing trouble. There has been some strange power fluctuations though."_

"Could be the missing Inkling."

_"Do you think Nil messed with it?"_

"That, or it's injured and sending off a distress signal. I can never tell which sometimes."

_"Well, we'll keep an eye on it just in case. By the way, how's your arm holding up?"_

I sighed and eyed my plastered arm carefully wrapped in a sling, "I won't be using it anytime soon, that's for sure. Nil's darkness did a number on it. I can't even feel it anymore."

_"Don't sound so down, Mavis! You'll be back in action before you know it!"_

"Sometimes I wish I had your optimism, your majesty," I chuckled some, "Keep me posted."

_"You got it!"_ I cut the connection with a press of the button, and leaned back into the chair with a tired sigh. _Anymore of this stress and I'm going to start balding prematurely..._

"Is everyone ready to go!?" I shouted into the back, and getting no response in return. I pinched the bridge of my nose, blowing air in frustration. _Why do I even bother?... should I even... probably..._

Carefully I stood and raised my left arm in the air, calling loudly into the back rooms, "You've got ten seconds to get your butts in here! Or you'll experience ten thousand volts of electricity running in and out of your skulls!"

That got everyone pumping. The rest of the team charged in, tripping over their own feet and giving me a mock salute, still trying to rub the sleep out of their eyes. Anolani was the only one bright eyed and bushy tailed, jogging in place with a grin stretching her lips.

"Alright! Another world, another Memory Lane to conquer!" She cheered, punching her fists in the air and narrowly missing Sora's face in the process, "and this time, it's Radiant Garden! This is gonna be fun!"

"How do you know that?" Riku asked, a yawn forming at the end of his sentence.

Anolani smirked and twitched her antenna knowingly, "It's all in the antenna my fine friend."

"Those are real?" Sora pondered, moving to poke or tugged at one of the red strands. I spoke up to stop him before he could.

"Never mind that. I got a report from Mickey that the Inkling is in this world. However, it's been acting strangely. We'll have to find that keyhole as soon as possible," I glared a little at the group, "and no splitting up this time. We don't need a repeat of Traverse Town."

"I know I'm gonna regret asking this," Riku shook his head and wondered exasperated, "but who died and put you in charge? Maybe some of us have some ideas we'd like to share."

"Then go ahead."

...

"WHAT!?" Sora and Riku shouted in unison, looking dumbstruck. Kairi and Anolani shared a smile.

"Technically she didn't say she was in charge," Kairi pointed out.

"Yeah. You could've stepped in anytime you wanted to. Mavis may be a little bossy, self-centered, stubborn as an untamed mule-"

"Don't push it."

"But she'll listen to any ideas you guys offer." Anolani ignored my statement and finished with a thumbs up.

I turned my gaze to Sora and quirked a thin brow, "Sora, you know this world better than I do. Where do you think we should look first?"

"W-Well," he stuttered after being put on the spot so suddenly, "the last time I checked it was in the castle, but it's been under construction for a while. I'm not even sure it's still there or if we can get in."

"That could be troublesome," I murmured with a calculating look. _Not to mention it would waste precious time to just gain access into the construction site..._

"Wait, I thought you said you had friends there?" Anolani said, appearing confused.

"Oh yeah! They're the committee in charge of it all!" Sora exclaimed, "They'll have to let us in!"

"Then it's settled," Riku said with a shrug, "We look for Sora's friends and have them lead us to the Keyhole."

"Alright! Then let's get a move on people! Hup two!" Anolani had the others March through the teleport much like soldiers off to war.

_And so it begins..._

* * *

Radiant Garden was a concrete place, gray stones stretching from the ground built up to the walls with a small town of houses and businesses scattered around the center. In the distance, Anolani and I gasped at the sight; a decrepit castle torn apart to its very frames and foundation stood, stoically contrasting with the warmth and coziness of the tiny town it shadowed. Even from this far, I could feel the coldness of the wind that whistled through it, remembering Sora's tale of heroism that took place not too long ago. The darkness it suffered under Maleficent's manage was faint but my sister and I were sensitive enough to feel its remnants haunting the hollow halls.

"Wow...," Anolani said breathlessly, impressed with the scenery, "Check out the view!"

"A lot's changed since I've been here," the silver haired keybearer held a sighed, pain flickering in his sea green eyes, "It's almost..."

"Refreshing?" Kairi offered, sharing a smile with her older friend, earning the same in return.

"Yeah...refreshing..."

"Sort of reminds me of Chronos Cay...in a way, I guess," I said off handedly with a shrug.

"How so?" Sora didn't miss the nostalgia laced in my voice and rose his brows curiously. The others did the same; Chronos Cay wasn't a world they've ever heard of or even had a chance to visit because it wasn't on a normal star map, so the three were interested to know more about this utopian society above the clouds.

"Well..., think of it this way," I said, eyes drifting to the rosy pink skies, "If you combine the beaches of Destiny Islands and the town and castle of Radiant Garden, you'd get Chronos Cay. It was always a warm place, with the occasional monsoon season, and was made up of five different islands, four separate from the main land. Sure Chronos Cay had its beaches, but it was built mainly of concrete and surrounded by many stone towers. It's hard to imagine if you haven't been, so don't try it," I pointed out with a blank stare when noticing the strained look on Sora's face.

"Do you think we'll ever get to see it?" Kairi asked. It was an innocent question, but it still stung my heart when remembering the last time I had seen it.

"If we win this, maybe," I replied, bowing my head, "the last time I saw it, it was being devoured by Nil's darkness. I just hope it isn't too late."

"It's never too late! I say we find this keyhole, fix the lanes, take down Nil, and have a big Chronos Cay party afterward! We'll have fireworks, food, dancing! The whole nine yards!" Anolani cheered, already pumped up and rearing to go with her fist in the air.

"That sounds awesome! Now we have something to strive for!" Sora joined in her little fantasy, "Let's do this for the party! Whose in!?"

"I'd hold off the party planning until later!" Riku took a fighters stance, summoning his keyblade and glaring behind us, "We've got company!"

Pivoting and taking hold of our weapons, (in my case, taking a single gauntlet in my left hand) we faced the ghostly wisps of darkness that began to filter into the air and morph into solid figures. Slowly manifesting into physical form was what Anolani and I dubbed Nil's Followers; innocent people who were taken by Nil's darkness and transformed into his image. There bodies were like living slug, and their eyes glowed white when they found us suitable prey. With a quick flick, the Followers elongated their claws and got ready to attack.

"What do we about these guys, Mavis?" Sora asked, holding his blade steady, watching for any sudden movements.

"We'll have to fight our way through them until we reach your friends! There's too many of them to take on right now," I said, cocking my head slightly, "Do you remember how to reach your friends from here?"

Sora gave a quick nod, and crying out, the five of us charged through the black ink and made a full out sprint towards the town below. It wasn't hard avoiding their lagging attacks, it was the fact there were so many in one place that made it so difficult. If in plentiful amounts, they become hard to track and blend into each other, looking like a pool of ink. It makes it harder to fight in the thick puddle.

We managed to cut our way to the center of town, stopping momentarily to catch our breathes.

Kairi was the first to speak after straightening herself, "Looks like everyone went into hiding."

"Good thing too! Those things are crazy nasty in a fight," Anolani said, hands on her hips, "We wouldn't want anyone here to turn into a Follower."

"Where to now?" Riku asked Sora, only to groan when more monsters circled us, claws ready to strike.

"Aw, come on!" Sora whined, summoning his weapon once more, angling it towards the new wave of Followers, "Where's Cid's security system when you need it!?"

"This place has a security system!?" I yelled in frustration, electrifying another creature into oblivion.

Anolani blasted another Follower through the head and asked incredulously, "Why isn't it working then!? We're getting our butts creamed!"

All of our questions went unanswered, and for a moment we thought the worse was to come. Our team was surrounded, sweat beading our foreheads and limbs aching from overuse, and Nil's Followers fresh and ready to end us with one swipe. We were gathered together, our backs facing each other and weapons pointed outward, hoping to pull off one last struggle. I squinted my eyes and braced myself for the attack. _This can't be it..._

Suddenly, there was a sudden crash, the sounds of hissing and clawing erupted all around us, then slowly settled down into a deafening silence.

"Are we dead yet?" Anolani inquired, peeking one eye open expecting a bright shining light.

"No, but you're lucky to be alive," a cold monotone voice startled us from our circle of protection, and in a snap, my eyes shot open and landed on a blonde spikey hair man (it was sure to rival Sora's) clad in black wielding a giant sword wrapped in tape. He turned to us and his ice blue eyes locked on each of us, landing on Anolani and I the longest. I shot him a look right back as a challenge. _My competitive nature is kicking in..._

"Cloud!" Sora called with a friendly wave, confusing the rest of us.

_He knows this guy?_

"You two know each other?" Anolani asked, then grinned while eyeing his sword with a spark in her eyes, "By the way, wicked sword! Gotta tell me where you got it!"

The blonde man, Cloud it seemed, raised one interested brow at the bright eyed Keyblade Master, "Sora? What are you doing here. I thought you went home."

"Well yeah, but now we've got another journey ahead of us," Sora said with a flustered smile, then looked to us, "With their help of course. You guys, this is Cloud. Cloud, these are my friends; Riku, Kairi, and Anolani and Mavis."

"Nice to meet you," Kairi greeted, Riku choosing to nod. Anolani gave a friendly wave, while I continued to glare. _There's just something about this guy; it makes me want to beat the tar out of him...like in a battle or something...to make myself feel superior... _

"He's one of your friends, right? Can't he show us the Keyhole?" I pondered, looking to Sora with an arched brow.

"What would you pipsqueaks want with the Keyhole?" Cloud shot a glare at us, getting better grip on his sword.

"Who are you calling a pipsqueak!?"

"It's in trouble, Cloud," Sora said, having Riku hold me by the shoulders while I flailed around in his arms, "that's where those monsters are coming from. We're trying to put everything back the way it was, and save their home."

"I think you should share this with the others," he said after a moment of thought, "They gathered at Merlin's house after those monsters showed up. I'm going to keep patrolling." With one final stare down with me, he left towards the edge of town.

"See you later, then!" Sora called after him, then turned to us with a cheerful grin.

"Not a talkative guy, is he?" Riku pondered.

Anolani looked to me with curiosity, "And what was that glaring about? I've never seen you so fired up. Well," she crossed her arms and lowered her head, twitching her antenna, "At least not anyone else but Riku and I."

I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose, "I don't know. Something about him makes me want to beat the tar out of him. Not in a bad way, more like just to show who's superior."

"Now that I think about it. You two do act alike. It's like standing in front of a mirror," Kairi voiced in realization.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said with a roll of my eyes, "Let's just hurry to this 'Merlin' and see if we can get your friends to reveal the Keyhole."

"Right! Let's go! Come on! We'll race ya!" Anolani quickly grabbed my arm and raced further into town, shouting, "Last one there is a spoiled ice cream!"

"You don't even know where you're going!" Unfortunately my cries fell on deaf ears.

_Why does this always happen to me?_


	10. Reminisce

Hello world and all who inhabit it! This is the longest chapter yet! I feel so accomplished! Just a heads up, I'll be starting community college next week, so I may be updating a little later than usual. No worries though, I'll keep ya posted!

Ahem! I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, sister would have a heart attack at eighteen! ^^

10. Reminisce

_I'm scared. I'm really scared. Daddy hasn't been then same since the spark. He doesn't play with us anymore; he just wants Lani and I to keep making the spark so he can watch it, and when it's gone, he asks us to leave him alone. Nothing's the same anymore. Even his smile isn't the same, it makes me cold inside. And when Lani and I try asking the new nanny about it, she wouldn't say anything, just give us a weird stare, like we did something wrong. Lani doesn't like her so she tries to keep us away from her, but I know why. She just misses daddy, just like I do. But I don't think he's coming back. He isn't our daddy anymore. He's gone, not like mommy, but close enough to make me feel lonely again. _

_At least I have Lani and the stars to keep me company..._

* * *

I fiddled lightly with my silver star pendant that hung around my neck and stared at the distant ruined castle in a daze, overcome with a medley of thoughts. I sat on the roof of the wizard, Merlin's, house after briefly retelling our mission to the Restoration Committee. To make a long story short, they fully agreed to help us in our quest so long as we help them clear out the Heartless and Followers in town and fix the security system so that it takes out both types of enemies. Apparently they have a second computer hooked up to the town beneath the old castle and want to see if they can install extra security measures from there. Sora was quick to agree, so there was no argument as to where we were going, and we were suppose to be heading out soon.

However, I guess the others were taking their sweet time getting acquainted and resting a bit after the long journey, which led me to the roof, patiently waiting their return.

"I don't see why we can't just go fix the Keyhole and leave," I groaned, pulling my knees to my chest and resting my chin with a bored stare, "We don't need someone else's chores dragging us down. They should be able to clean up their own mess."

I twirled the pendant once more and sighed, feeling a touch of exhaustion hit me all of a sudden. "Then again, I have no room to talk. A powerful, almost supernatural being asking for the help of mortals... makes us sound pathetic just saying it aloud..."

A sullen feeling rose up and churned my stomach. "What does it matter? I can't even take my rightful place as ruler, so what's the point in trying to save something that isn't mine in the first place?"

"What's the point!? WHAT'S THE POINT!? Are you loony nuts, Mavis!?" A screech erupted from beside me and it took most of my strength and common sense not to fall off the roof or scream.

With a growl, I turned to the culprit, now culprits, and said harshly, "Anolani, Kairi, don't sneak up on me like that! I think I just lost ten years of my life thanks to you two!"

"Sorry about that. We just wanted to tell you we're ready to go when you are," Kairi said with a light laugh, face turning red from embarrassment while my sister's was cherry for a whole other reason.

"How can you say that, Mavis!?" Anolani continued to rant, standing next to me on the roof with her hands planted on her hips, "Chronos Cay is our home! Sure, you may have to marry some snobby rich dude to take the throne, at least you'll be continuing your family's legacy."

Growing tired of this argument, I stood up and retorted icely, "And be recognized as a common house wife? Thanks, but I'd rather keep what's left of my dignity." I leaped from the roof and landed gracefully onto the ground and glanced up at the two girls with stoned forest eyes, "Let's go get the boys and start clearing up the infestation in town. And I don't want anymore talk of this until after we leave this place."

* * *

Clearing the town was simple enough. With the help of some of Sora's friends, we managed to clean up most of Radiant Garden, and make it safe to wander once again. The security system (which were actually little beams of light that shot from the ground, scaring a certain guard half to death on several occasions) helped to get rid of the Heartless, while we worked on the Followers, Leon (a gunblade wielding brunette with a scar on the bridge of his nose) and Yuffie (spunky pixie haired ninja who bore a scary resemblance to Anolani, personality wise) guiding us through Radiant Garden towards the castle ruins.

As we approached the large structure, Riku seemed to freeze up. As the others walked on, Sora and I turned around, eyeing the boy with worried and skeptical expressions. The silver-haired teen was lost in his thoughts, I assumed, reminiscing about his time in the dark; blindingly following Maleficent's orders, diving right into the shadows in hopes of becoming stronger, and in the end, becoming possessed by the very power he craved, it must've been a lot to digest. His past was standing right in front him. Eventually he had to face it head on. But it looks like it'll take time and a lot of persuasion to get him to do so.

I gave Sora the okay to go on ahead, and walked back to Riku, who took no notice to my presence. I don't know why I felt just as regretful as he did, or why I wanted to make it seem like it never happened to him in the first place. To make him feel better, sure, but to erase that pain from his heart? Normally I'd let someone figure it out on their own, I believed no one deserved unneeded sympathy or pity from others, but somehow I knew Riku probably needed it the most.

He needs to know he's not alone in this...

"Remember, Riku," I said, left hand on his shoulder and snapping him out of his daze, "You are passed this part of your life. Just like this castle, you are being built into something much greater."

"Right...," He murmured, refusing to meet my eyes, "It just... brings back a lot of memories. A lot of regret..."

"It matters not what occurred in the past," I reiterated, tilting his chin up to meet his eyes, "Keep that thought in mind, focus on the present, and look ahead to the future. Or do you want me to beat the phrase into you until you bleed?"

Riku chuckled lightly, eyes lighting the slightest bit with amusement. "From you, that actually sounds endearing. Almost like you care."

"Hmph, don't over think my actions, just accept them," I said lazily, ignoring the warm feeling rushing to my cheeks and turning back to the entrance, "now quit your moping already. We've gotta go fix this computer and get to the Keyhole."

"Hey Mavis?"

"What now?" I cocked a disinterested brow.

"Thanks."

I sighed and continued my walk, "Don't mention it. Let's just go already. The worlds only know what's going on in Anolani's mind when she finds out we're missing."

Riku thought for a moment, then shivered with unpleasant thoughts, "We better hurry."

* * *

"Wow! What a dump!" Anolani said, wincing at the damage done to the spacious office. Riku and I had to agree as soon as we walked in, Riku whistling at the trash and papers scattered all over the floor. The light tan walls were covered in doodles, (of what, I haven't a clue) and there was a single hard wood desk in the center. The walls held several bookcases filled to the brim with literature, and looking at the back wall, there was a portrait face down against the wall.

"This place use to be his study," Leon explained, "He conducted most of his research in this room."

"Who did? This work is very well detailed," I inquired, looking over a few papers and notes, "He must've been quite the scientist."

"Oh no! Mavis is showing admiration for another human being!" I gave my sister a slap to the head, then went back to reading.

"Our leader, Ansem the Wise," Yuffie said with much pride. As soon as I heard the name, my eyes widened in surprise. _THE Ansem the Wise!? This is his work!?"_

"Seriously!?" Anolani seemed just as surprised, and peeked over my shoulder in an attempt to look at his work, "Wow! Lucky you, huh Mavis?"

"How do _you _two know of him?" Sora asked curiously.

"Are you kidding? He may be a mortal but even we know of Ansem the Wise on Chronos!" I replied, a joyful grin on my face and eyes a light with excitement, "We of the scientific community admire all of his work! His theories on the heart are simply fascinating! Only we weren't lucky enough to really see his work in person, but even now his name is known all over the islands! I can't believe I'm acting holding some of his research papers!"

"As you can see, she's a huge fan," Anolani simply explained, then her antenna twitched, "so you're saying he did research on Heartless too? How weird."

"Yeah, but that's a whole other story," Yuffie said with a shrug, "we still need to fix up the place a little and then it'll be as good as new!"

"Its just too bad we couldn't meet him in person," Anolani said with a grin, shifting through books and going to the portrait that lay against the wall, "I would've loved hearing Mavis fangirl over him!"

"S-shut it! I have more dignity than that, you know!"

My sister giggled and rolled her eyes, lifting and turning the portrait face up, "Oh sure, I bet your squeal would've broken the sound...barrier...," looking at the painting, her crimson orbs grew, and she quickly backed away, slamming herself against the desk with a fearful countenance. The others looked on in confusion, wondering what could be spooked the normally fearless guard into submission. I approached her carefully, placing the papers down on the desk and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Anolani, what is it?"

"Mavis, it's him...," She said barely above a whisper, a quivering finger lifting towards the portrait, "It's that man...the one that came..."

I gave her a funny look, then eyed the painting closely. It was a headshot of a man, with tan skin, cold eyes the color of amber, and wild silver hair that went to his shoulders. Nothing came to me at first, and I wondered why this painting was in Ansem's study, but after a few moments of analyzing his face, the memories came flooding in, and the spark in my eyes had drained, leaving nothing but fright.

"I-I can't believe this...," I stuttered, leaning against my sister for support. The others looked even more lost than before.

"What is it, you guys? What's wrong?" Kairi asked, the worry in her tone thick.

"The keybearer that taught my father darkness," I said, "it was him! The man in that portrait is him!"

"What!?" They all shouted.

"But that's- uh! That's-!"

"Xehanort!" Riku finished Sora's sentence, the name bringing chills.

"Ansem's apprentice," Leon said, though his voice was empty, the shock was clear as day, "But how? Last time I checked, he was destroyed!"

"How'd he get all the way to Chronos!? I thought you said it was untouchable!" Yuffie exclaimed, looking between the two of us.

"It was many years ago. We were still children then. I don't know how he got there, he just said he was lost and found a light leading him to Chronos," I explained, trying to pull the event from my mind, "Though he looked much younger then. And his eyes...they were different from before. But I never forget a face!"

"How was he destroyed?" Anolani pondered, still shaken up from seeing his face.

"He let the darkness take his heart, and Sora managed to destroy both his Heartless and his Nobody," Leon explained.

_Good riddance then, _I thought angrily, clenching my one fist tightly, turning away from the picture with hatred burning inside. _So long as he's gone, no one can suffer the same pain I suffered. But why? Why does he look so different than before? Something isn't clicking right..._

"Ready to go see the computer?" Anolani asked with a small smile, trying to forget the painting laying in front of us, "Maybe doing something technological will help you vent."

I took a minute to breathe and sort out my thoughts, then followed the others out of the study, leaving both my hatred and admiration behind.

* * *

"So what took you two so long?"

"Shut it Anolani! I'm trying to focus here!" I growled, typing away at the keyboard and messing with a few wires in the CPU.

"We were just talking," Riku said, exasperated, rubbing his face and gripping his hair in annoyance, "How many times do we have to say it?"

I really don't know how we got back to this situation, but apparently Anolani remembered to put Riku and I as the center of attention after arriving so late.

"Until you tell us what about," the keybearing brunette said with a sly grin, Kairi and Yuffie joining in. _What the heck!? He knew why we took so long! The jerk!_

"You know what? I think I'll just ignore you guys," I groaned, and faced Leon for assistance, "Can you help me type in this code while I fix these wires? That should update your security and link it into the city grid."

Leon took over the controls and for a while there was nothing but silence (except for Anolani's whining about 'ignoring your sissy is a no no!'). Then with a mechanical whoosh, bright lights erupted from the computer screen, and the security system was back on line.

"That should do it," I said, going next to Leon, "Have Cid perform maintenance checks for the next couple days to make sure there aren't any problems. Other than that, the entire town should be protected."

"Thanks a lot, you guys! We owe you big time!" Yuffie said gleefully, giving a thumbs up.

"You saved the town," Leon said with a small smirk, "Good work."

"It's what we do," Sora lazily put his hands behind his head, and grinned full of pride.

"Hold on, we're not out of the water yet," I mentioned, going back to the original point of coming here. Kairi agreed.

"Yeah, we still have to check the Keyhole and look for that Inkling."

"And with Nil's Followers hanging around town, I bet he's got something inside the Memory Lane he wants to protect," Riku thought aloud.

"And since Sora hasn't forgotten anything, that means he hasn't corrupted it too much! Which means we can go right ahead and open the pathway!" The guard said cheerfully.

"Then we wish you the best of luck!" The great ninja said, "and remember to come back to Merlin's place for some grub and rest!"

"Sora, do you remember where you last saw the Keyhole?" Leon asked.

Sora took a minute to think, then nodded his head on assurance. "Yeah. I think so."

Anolani was quick to run run for the exit, calling back to us as she ran, "Then what are we waiting for!? Come on slowpokes, let's save another world and look good doing it!"

With a few laughs and subtle sighs of exhaustion we chased the royal guard out of the lab, and followed Sora towards the last place he saw the Keyhole. Meanwhile during the walk, I enveloped myself in my thoughts. Thinking back to the portrait in Ansem's study, I couldn't believe everything that's happened so far. In that very room, I had seen my hero's work in person, and the man that plunged my father in chaos; yet looking back on it, I was troubled. Something about that portrait looked different. It couldn't have been the age of the man or his hair that bothered me. It was his eyes.

The man I saw as a child and the man I see now are different through their eyes; while the one in the portrait was cold and thoughtless, the man I saw in Chronos Cay was warmer. Friendlier I think. Though there was a hint of regret in his eyes. But why? How can one man change from being warm and welcoming to ice and ruthless so suddenly? It doesn't make any sense.

_I'll think more on it later...for now, let's focus on the Memory Lane, and find that_ _Inkling_. I thought, just as we reached the room where the Keyhole resided. From Sora's story, I can tell not much has changed. It makes sense considering the fragility of the Keyhole. I was glad that the Keyhole was still intact, shining in the center, just a few stairs away. Makes the job so much easier.

As we climbed (in Sora's and Anolani's case, bolted) the stairway, Riku stopped once again, looking hesitant.

I turned around and gave a rare, genuine smile and held out my hand, "Come on, Riku. Remember what I said before."

For a moment he froze, carefully taking my hand in his and gripping it so tight, my fingers turned red.

"It matters not what happened in the passed...," He murmured to himself, repeating twice more before lifted himself onto the next step until he was towering over me with relief on his face.

I squeezed his hand reassuringly, letting my fingers trail his palm before letting go joining the others by the Keyhole, the warmth of his hand quickly leaving mine cold and wanting more.

I walked up to the Keyhole after making sure everyone was ready, then set my eyes aglow and chanted lightly with my left hand towards it. _"Ex corde, plena immensum memoriae. Sapere ex animos annos. Tempus per oculos, portam ad mundi opes!"_

A warm bright blinded us for a moment, then died down to reveal a darkened tunnel. The usual whimsical colors of the Memory Lane had changed to violent reds, purples and blacks, and as soon as we regained ourselves, we were surrounded by Heartless in less than a minute.

"Looks like we'll have to fight our way to the Inkling," Sora said, summoning his weapon along with the rest of us.

"Shall we begin?" I taunted, my fist bursting with sparks.

Together we fought through each wave of Heartless, careful to avoid hitting the memory shards drifting by. It was difficult for me, having only one arm to blast Heartless to oblivion, and after seven minutes of fighting, I felt my energy drain drastically. I felt so useless then. Even Kairi was taking down more enemies than I, while I was reduced to panting and resting every second a Heartless delt me harm.

After another army was vanquished by our hands, I took a knee to catch my breath while the others stood around me without even a hint of exhaustion.

"Dammit!" I scolded myself, slamming my fist into the ground, sparks flying every which way, "I hate this!"

"You gonna be okay, sis?" Anolani asked, moving to help me up, but I pushed her hand away and lifted myself up with a grunt.

"The Inkling should be up ahead," I explained, shoving passed them and ignoring their looks, "His majesty said it's been acting strangely."

"Are you sure you're gonna be okay?" Kairi asked, "It's okay if you need help."

"I'll be fine. So let's get moving."

They didn't argue further and followed me deeper into the Memory Lane. It was a silent trip, only interrupted by a few leftover Heartless and stopping every five minutes to see if I was okay, which I retorted with a growl. I hated the fact that I needed assistance, but they didn't need to acknowledge it every five seconds!

As we were nearing the center, a rumble shook the ground beneath us.

"What was that?" Sora pondered, getting to his feet after falling over.

"I'm guessing it came from the black swirling vortex of doom," Anolani pointed to said vortex, looking scarily calm.

"Where did that come from?" Riku asked, a little put off from not noticing it before.

Said vortex spin more violently, wind picking up and attempt to drag us into the blackness, until a single memory shard flew into its maw. The gales died down, and all went quiet, the five of is holding our breaths and waiting for the tension to break. The spiral stopped moving, and thus began to grew larger and larger until the pitch smoke loomed over us in the form of a dragon, sinister green eyes staring us down, looking for its next meal.

"Uh, Sora? Please tell me you didn't fight a dragon while in Radiant Garden," Kairi begged, her hold on her sword tightly.

"Uh, I didn't?" Sora shrugged, looking uneasy.

I rolled my eyes, "Oh, isn't this perfect..."

"Yes! I've always wanted to fight a dragon! Total epicness!" Anolani cheered, cocking her guns.

"There's the Inkling!" I shouted, pointing above the dragon's head to show the glowing green drone hovering over the smoke to keep its shape.

"Anolani and I will handle the dragon! You guys get the Inkling!" Sora ordered, rushing head on towards the roaring beast. Anolani followed his lead, narrowly dodging a blasting of green fire that erupted from its maw and laughing maniacally.

"You heard the man! Let's go!" I said, leading my group to the dragon's rear.

Pistol shots and the bell chimes from Sora's keyboard making its mark filled the air, along with the constant roaring from the beast's throat. Kairi, Riku, and I avoided the dragon's attempts to slow us down, whether it be the pounding of its feet to the swing of its tail.

Seeing the tail's scales trailing up to the head, I shouted to the others, "Watch my back!" And before they could put up a fight, I jumped on the dragon's tail and held on as tight as I could, ignoring the pain of slamming my cast.

"Mavis, get down from there!" Kairi called, avoiding a heat seeking ball of fire.

I scaled my way up the dragon's back, stopping a moment to cool the muscle burning in my arm. Immediately after taking a blow from Anolani's pistol, it reared, making me slip up and grab the nearest scale before plummeting to the ground. Kairi shrieked out of worry. "Mavis!"

"I-I got it!" I called, struggling to swing myself over and continued my climb, blood pumping as I got closer to the head where the Inkling flew.

"That's it! I'm coming after you!" Riku called.

"No, don't! Stay and help the others! I can handle this!" I shouted back, hanging on as tight as I could.

"No you can't! You need help!"

"Yes I ca-!" I yelled at the light burn of fire that scorched my back.

"Mavis! Quit being an idiot and get down from there!"

"No!" _I'm not giving up! I'm not useless! I can do this! Just a few...more ...feet!_

I pushed onward, now on the beast's crown where the Inkling hovered. I wrapped my legs around the dragon's neck, and reached for the drone. _Come on, just a little closer..._

As my luck would have it, the dragon bucked once more, and in that moment, time had slowed. My grip fell loose, and I began my decent towards the ground, heart dropping with a sickening thud to my stomach. I was filled with dread; I thought I was doomed to break against floor or become a victim of the beast's claws. All around me I heard screaming. Anolani almost on the brink of crying, Sora yelling out of fear, Kairi dropping her sword in astonishment. Though the loudest, surprisingly, was Riku. His voice over powered the rest, and somehow it gave me strength. I won't give up. I'm not useless...I'm not useless!"

"MAVIS!"

Quicker than humanly possible, I shot out my left hand and held on tight. A surge of untapped power had risen, and carefully, I lifted my right arm from its sling. The burning had numbed, and with a cry of newfound strength I shot it upward towards the drone, unleashing a bolt painted in black that struck the target true, bringing it to the ground. The beast below me roared in pain, and collapsed on its side, bringing me down with it. I crashed to the ground and slid feet away from the dragon, and watched as the creature evaporated into smoke, and the air of the Memory Lane return to its whimsical hues of blue and pink.

I sat up slowly, then cringed when pain suddenly shoots up my back. "Ow wowow!"

"Mavis!" Anolani cried and tackled me into a hug, large tears running comically down her cheeks, "Don't you ever scare me like that again! Why would you scare your poor sister like that!? I'm gonna grow grey hairs because of you! You have no idea how worried we were! Don't you dare do something so reckless, okay!? I almost lost my sissy!"

"Eh, Anolani, you're kind of sitting on me," I said, trying to push her out of my lap.

"No! I'll never let go of you again!"

"Anolani..."

_I must've scared her like crazy...I've never seen her this panicky before...now I feel guilty..._ I bowed my head, bangs covering my eyes. If there's one thing that I would never want to do is worry her. She always takes good care of me, better than the nannies at home...

"I'm sorry..."

"Huh?" Anolani perked up, the group looking at me curiously with the same worried expression.

"I'm sorry, to all of you," I said, much louder, "I shouldn't have been so reckless. I just couldn't stand being so useless. I wanted to prove something, and I was almost killed because of it. So, I hope you all find it in your hearts to forgive me."

"It's okay, Mavis, really," Kairi spoke after a brief silence, a smile lightening my spirits, "you just gave us a scare is all."

"And you did save us from that dragon, so of course we forgive you. You're our friend," Sora said with a grin, then turned to Riku who had yet to say a word.

His eyes were downcast, reluctant to look my way. I heard him above all the rest; my stunt must've scared him half to death, though he wouldn't show it. This formed guilt in my heart. I didn't mean to frighten him like that; not sure why I care, but I really didn't want to. I guess he has just a tight hold on my heart as Anolani does.

"Riku...," I murmured after Anolani allowed me to stand.

He didn't say a word at first, until he finally lifted his head and gave a relieved smile, "Don't do anything so reckless again. I don't wanna have to go and save you every time you screw up."

I'm not sure whether to be relieved he forgave me, or insulted.

I'll go with insulted for now.

"Shut up! And you didn't save me! You just stood there screaming!" I yelled, shaking my fist in the air, "You call that saving!?"

"If you hadn't did that stupid stunt, you wouldn't need a rescue in the first place!"

"Yay, they're back!" Anolani cheered, slinging an arm around our shoulders.

After settling a bit, I approached the Inkling and knelt beside it. In truth, it was a simple ball surrounded by light with two adjacent balls next to it, acting as ears. I got the idea for the design from King Mickey, obviously.

"Looks like Ichi," I said, noting the green paint job.

"You name them?" Riku pondered.

I shrugged, "It's easier to keep track of them. He just needs a jump start." With a simple zap to reboot it, it shot into the air and vanished in a twinkle of light.

"All fixed! One step closer to our party in Chronos!" Anolani cheered.

I sighed and looked at my right arm dejectedly. The cast was ripped apart from the blast. _ What was that? That's never happened before... I'll tell King Mickey after my report...something about this worries me..._

"Come on. Time to head back," I said, leading everyone out and putting my arm back in its sling, the burning feel returning.


	11. Starlight

Welcome back everyone! This is chapter eleven of my first story! This is more of a filler if anything, but it dips into Mavis' and Anolani's past a bit, mainly centered around their mother, Mavis' pendant, and her thoughts on the journey ahead! I hope you enjoy. Though as I wrote this, I did managed to cry a bit. Too many memories concerning a loved one. That was just a warning just in case any of you are as emotional as I am.

Like before, I do not own Kingdom Hearts. Just some manga I got for Christmas! X3

* * *

11. Starlight

It was a chilly night in Radiant Garden and as promised, we decided to stay the night before heading off to the next sector. The normal nightly sounds of crickets and ghostly breezes was obscured by the cacophony of my companions eating and enjoying each other's company with the occasional bursts of gleeful laughter. I was on the roof again, too wrapped up in my own thoughts to join them. Absent-mindedly twirling my star pendant in my left hand, I stared at my right bond tightly in a cast, cringing in disgust.

_I can never generate lightning with my bare hands before. I've always needed my gauntlets as a buffer. And that lightning. _A picture of jagged light shooting from my arm appeared. _It was black. Pitch black, and the power from it isn't anything I felt before. It felt so cold... _I hugged my arm to my chest to give it warmth, and sighed dejected into the night air.

So many things have happened so far during this journey, and we've only been to two worlds so far. I'm not sure for better or worse, but I can feel myself changing ever so slowly. While I normally like to isolate myself from society, I'm surrounded by so many different people, different hearts that are gingerly forming bonds with my own and creating feelings I never knew I even had. What was happening to me was, I admit, unsettling. I didn't know how these feelings would change me or how I act. Now that I think about it, I've done a lot of things in the last fourty-eight hours that I can't even comprehend.

Letting myself ally with Keybearers.

Risking my arm to save Sora and Kairi from the Heartless.

I can't even understand my relationship with Riku; one minute we're at each other's throats, the next we're like the best of friends.

And everyone in Radiant Garden has been so kind to me, welcomed me with open arms like they've known me their entire lives, while in reality it's been a few hours.

How can someone trust another so easily? It makes no logical sense.

"Hey, you didn't come down for dinner," Anolani spoke up and climbed onto the roof, "What's up, sis?"

"Nothing, just...," I started, then turned my eyes to the stars as she sat beside me, "doing a little star gazing."

"But we haven't done that since we were little! Are you feeling alright?" She asked suspiciously, holding a hand to my forehead, "you don't feel warm..."

I rolled my eyes and knocked her hand away, "Knock it off! Even I have my guilty pleasures."

"Well, sure, but I'm just wondering why? I mean, it's not like you can't or anything, it's just we haven't done this since..."

Her voice trailed off and her eyes lowered, pulling one leg up to her chest as melancholy permeated the air. It didn't take a genius to know what she was referring to.

Suddenly, there was a sharp shriek, then came the thundering of bodies hitting the ground. Curious, the two of us peeked over the edge, to find Kairi and Yuffie piled under a ladder with Aerith staring at them with a amusement in her eyes.

I cocked a brow as Kairi shot her gaze towards us with an embarrassed look, and Anolani resisted the urge to giggle.

"U-uh...Hey guys?..."

My sister then let loose a flurry of giggles, holding her stomach uncontrollably. I sighed and waved an inviting hand. "Join the party, why don't you? Not like you can run now."

All three girls took the invitation gratefully, and soon enough we were sitting comfortably on the rooftop, looking at the stars in a peaceful silence. It was only broken minutes later, when Kairi brought up an earlier subject.

"So, Anolani said you haven't star gazed in a long time."

"So? What of it?"

Kairi leaned forward passed Yuffie to look at me and asked, "Does that mean you used to do it a lot?"

"Yes, I guess," I replied, holding my pendant even tighter, "With all the excitement going on, I never had the chance to."

"We used to do this all the time when we were younger,"Anolani said with a grin, "we'd set out a blanket on the beach and spend most of the night trying to count them all. It was really fun."

"Then what made you stop?" Aerith pondered softly.

My sister and I shared a look, the lowered our heads in respect. "Our mother died."

A pained quiet followed, the other girls suddenly silent and passing pitiful looks with one another.

"She used to go out with us every night and help Mavis count along," Anolani said, her voice quivering with nostalgia, "Then when we were tired, she'd sing us to sleep and carry us home. She was always so warm."

Carefully I removed the silver star pendant that hung around my neck and held it in the air, "She always believed the stars themselves were hearts long passed away, and said that no matter how alone you may feel, you'll always have the stars watching over you. Then you'll never be lonely. A bit ironic actually."

"Why's that?" Yuffie asked curiously.

I giggled a bit, "One night on what you mortals call the New Year, I saw my first shooting star. And on that star, I asked for a friend," I turned to Anolani with a smirk on my lips, "it was only a week later that we found Anolani in the palace."

"Really!? You wished for that?" Anolani was surprised by this news.

I nodded, "Yeah, though the stars must be toying with me, sending you of all people."

"Aww, you love me! I know you do!"

"So, what was your mom like?" Yuffie asked with a grin.

"She was...amazing. She was beautiful, highly respected, strong hearted...She was everything I ever wanted to be. And so kind too..., there wasn't a soul in Chronos Cay that didn't love her," I replied, a ghost of a smile on my lips, "so when she passed on, the entire island fell silent. It was a dark day, for all of us."

"No one knew she was so sick. She was always smiling," Anolani continued in a sad tone, "always happy. When we saw her lying there in her death bed, we thought 'Come on mommy! Let's go get ice cream! They have two new flavors out!' But she didn't move. She couldn't. She was practically dying and we didn't know..."

* * *

_"Mommy! Ice cream! Ice cream!" A little Mavis, no older than three shouted impatiently, jumping up and down while a six year old Anolani pulled on the sheets with a childish beam. They ran into the room excitedly, dodging their frazzled father on the way and ignoring his shouts, wanting to pull their mother out of bed and run to the beach towards the ice cream shack down the road. It had just come out with two new tasty flavors, and they wanted to be the first to try it out. _

_Only after moments of tugging and jumping, they stopped and realized their mother wasn't getting up, and looking closer, they saw a difference in her once youthful green eyes. As they flickered to life, they saw a struggle within them. A painful, fruitless fight to stay awake for only a few sacred seconds, and look into her daughter's innocent ones with all the love she can show. _

_"Mommy?" Mavis asked, confused as to why her mother wouldn't budge, and climbed on top of the bed, shoving her shoulder to awaken her from her drowsy consciousness, "Ice cream, mommy! Ice cream!" She cheered with a grin. _

_"C'mon mama! You're gonna miss the two new flavors they got! I heard they're extra tasty!" Anolani said, sitting at her adoptive mother's side._

_The queen of Chronos Cay could only smile, the power to speak gone from her, and shakily raised a hand to touch her daughter's pale baby cheek. The little girl's grin dropped as soon as she felt the touch, and could only say one word, "Cold..."_

_The red eyed girl twitched her tiny antenna, confused. Her mother always had warmth to spare. But when the woman touched her tiny hand, her eyes widened in shock. _

_"Cold mommy," Mavis said, then hugged the woman's hand to give it warmth, "I can make you warm! I can make you warm!"_

_Though the woman shook her head slightly, releasing her hand and reaching around her neck to pull off her most prized possession. It was a gorgeous star pendant, a clear prism taking up the center and a silver rim and chain. Slowly, she put it in the three year old's hand, knowing it would be in a safe place. _

_Mavis became even more confused, "Neck-o-lass?"_

_"But that's your favorite necklace, mama," Anolani said, getting a worried feeling in her stomach, "You can wear it to the beach you know."_

_"Mommy?..."_

_Again, the woman shook her head, and gently smiled at her two beautiful children with tears dripping from her eyes one last time, praying that they understood the undying love she had for them, how much they meant to her, how strong a hold they had on her heart, before closing her eyes and welcoming the soft light that brightened in the distance. _

_Her hands fell limp, and unknowingly Anolani knew what had happened to her loving caretaker. Her heart dropped to her stomach as she watched her little sister make sad attempts at waking her up, too stricken with grief to tell the smaller child that her mother wasn't coming back. _

_"Mommy?" Mavis pondered, shaking her mother once, then twice more, "Mommy, wake! Wake up! Mommy!" She turned to her sister in fear, "Lani!"_

_"Mavis, I-I... I don't think she's gonna wake up...," She stuttered with unused tears. _

_Yet the little girl was persistent. She screamed and shook her parent with all her might, wanting to see her eyes again, to feel her hugs and laughter, wanting her to join them in their ice cream hunt. With every shake, came a wave a tears on both girl's cheeks, and after minutes of fighting, screaming and shoving, did Mavis finally stop and lay on her mother's stomach, wailing to the heavens as her sister stood next to her, fists clenched and tears falling in large droplets. _

_"Mommy! Mommy! Come back, mommy! Please! Please, come back! Mommy!"_

_She continued to scream, her cries echoing through the palace and in to the town's and villages, breaking the silence that held them captive. It was a sound that broke all of their hearts. It was the day Chronos lost a ruler, and two young girls lost a beloved mother._

* * *

"Mavis...I-I'm so sor-"

"Say you're sorry, Kairi, and you'll wake up breathing through a tube on life support," I said, smirking so she'd know I was joking.

"You must miss her, dearly," Aerith said her condolences, but I shook it off with a casual wave.

"Of course we miss her! But we know she's in a much better place, out of harm's way," Anolani replied with a grin, "plus we got to try the ice cream anyway, so I guess it's okay." Even though her words sounded true, there was the smallest hint of regret in her tone.

"She lives on in our memory," I said, then placed a hand to my heart, "many believe memories are held in the mind, but the true ones are stored in the very depths of our hearts."

Everyone smiled at that, placing their hands over their chests and looking to the stars as though remembering a loved one.

Now I know this journey is truly changing me. It's making me relive memories I've longed to forget and ease my pain. However, now that I've told someone, and let those feelings out into the open, felt lighter. Better than I have in years. I want to keep this feeling.

* * *

"Hey, has anyone seen the girls?" Sora wondered, noticing the quiet drifting through the house and the males standing around the computer screen. Not a single female insight...

"Last I checked, they followed Mavis onto the roof," Leon said boredly, watching Cid tap the keys, checking the town security system as requested.

Riku cocked a brow, "They've been up there for a while."

"Think we should check on them?" Sora asked.

Cid shook his head with a scoff, "Them girl's probably having a late night chat session or somethin'. Best leave 'em be!"

"Mavis? Actually acting like a girl?" The silver-haired teen smirk and turned towards the door, "This I gotta see."

"Maybe Cid's right. We should leave them alone," his best friend tried to convince. He was more worried about walking in on something he shouldn't hear.

"So none of you want to see Mavis, giggling like a school girl and gossiping about the latest trends?"

The group shared a long look, and before long, were edging their way outside, silently listening in on the unsuspecting girls.

"Red one!"

"Blue one!"

"Kairi, Yuffie already tagged that one."

"Shoot!"

"Purple one."

"Aw I almost had that!"

"That's totally a green one!"

"Yellow one!"

"Now Aerith's in the lead!"

"Blue one!"

"Hehe, Kairi, that's mine!"

"There's so many up there I can't keep track!"

"Purple one."

"Quit stealing from your sissy! It's not nice!"

They grew curious after a round of girlish laughter, and before they could ask, Anolani and Yuffie's head appeared overhead, their cheeks bearing similar beams.

"Hey look! The boys wanna join us!" Anolani cheered, red antenna perking up.

"Come on up! We're having a contest to see who can tag the most stars!" Yuffie explained, the others peering over with grins of acceptance. Even the usual quiet Mavis bore a small smile, happy to have more players. Seeing this, Riku grinned in return, a sudden warmth fluttering when touched by her smile.

_Even if this journey is changing me ..._

"Okay! Everyone call a color when you see a star you want! Purple, Blue, Red, Yellow, and Green have already been taken!" Anolani instructed after everyone took a seat.

_Even if the future is hazy and filled with peril..._

"Green!" _Yuffie_.

"Orange!" _Sora_.

"Blue!" _Kairi_.

"Silver!" _Riku_.

"White." _Leon_.

"Yellow!" _Aerith_.

"Pink!" _Cid_.

"Cid! That's Sora's!" _Anolani_.

"Ha! Cid's pink!"

"Shaddup!"

"Gold." _And even Cloud._

"Gah! Where'd you crawl from!?" Anolani screeched, suddenly backing into said stoic, black clad blond.

_As long as I have these idiots to catch me when I'm down..._

"Purple!"

_I think I'll be alright...for now at least...Mother..._

"Dang it, Mavis! Stop stealing stars from your beloved sissy!"


	12. Halloween Town Terrors

Sorry for the late update everyone! I just started community college and so this will regular occurrence. Just bear with me and we'll all get through it ^^

Ahem... I do not own Kingdom Hearts! If I did, I wouldn't be in school right now -.-

* * *

12. Halloween Town Terrors

"Hey Mavis, do you have a second?" The caring innocence of Kairi's voice startled me from my slumber, and in response, I groaned in exhaustion, sitting up slowly from the captain's chair.

_Of course, I wasn't just taking a well deserved nap two minutes ago..._ I thought with malice, and removed my glasses to rub the sleep from my eyes, "Now I do. What is it?" I ended my sentence with a yawn.

The red head shifted uncomfortably from her place on the floor, her legs crossed and eyes to the ground. Whatever was on her mind must be bugging the heck out of her if she couldn't spare two seconds from staring at the ground.

After seconds of picking her words carefully, Kairi worked up the nerve to ask with a sudden force, "Can you train me to fight!?"

"Huh? Train you?" I raised a thin mauve brow, now a little more alert.

"I'm tired of having Sora and Riku protect me whenever the going gets rough! I want to be able to fight along side them and not have them worry that I might get hurt," she exclaimed, a fire forming in her eyes.

"Then why not ask one of them to help? After all, they do bear the same weapon, and are more familiar with your fighting style."

"If I ask them, then they'll just go easy on me, and I won't learn anything. I love them, Mavis, but if I don't have the strength to protect them, then what good am I?" Kairi ended on a melancholy note, the truth of her words stabbing heart five times over.

I guess I can agree with her on that. I faced the same issue when learning to fight myself; my advisors were put off by the idea of their pampered little princess beating up her suitors. Luckily I had Anolani and a few friends from the Guard to teach me hand to hand and basic weaponry.

Perhaps it wouldn't hurt taking the time to instruct a fellow princess a few strokes.

"You're doing them good by being their friend. That's all they ever ask out of you... at least, that's what a sap would say," I shrugged, standing and holding out a hand to help the girl up, "But I'll teach you what I know. If there's one thing I hate the most, it's the stereotype that princesses are designated damsels in distress, and it'll serve us some good having you learn a thing or two."

Kairi stood and shook my hand graciously with a beam, "Thank you so much! I owe you one!"

"Don't mention it. I'll teach you hand to hand combat and then magic. I'll ask Anolani to teach you marksmanship and the ways of the sword. Think you can follow?"

"I can handle it!"

I nodded my head and sat back down with my feet propped up on the control panel and my eyes closed, hoping to catch a few more precious hours of sleep before arriving in the next sector, but Kairi's presence still lingered above me. _There's more, isn't there?..._

"Hey Mavis? Can I ask you something?" _Yep, hit the nail on the head._

"What now?" I asked, cracking one eye open, my expression void of emotion.

"It's what you said in Radiant Garden. About giving up on Chronos," Kairi explained, remembering my small rant earlier that day before heading to the castle study.

"What of it? I thought we were going to forget that little discussion," I said with a slight growl.

"You said not to talk about it until we leave and we left," she replied with an innocent smile. _The girl is clever, I'll give her that, finding that subtle loophole._

"Look, I just thought maybe I'm wasting my time trying to rescue something I'll never have for myself. Point. Blank. Period," I replied stubbornly, turning the chair around so my back faced the smiling red head and hoping to end the conversation at that.

"Is this about having to get married?"

"Must you be so ignorantly blunt?" I bowed my head in shame and ground my teeth. Embarrassment couldn't begin to cover the humiliation I am suffering.

Kairi simply blinked twice and moved to sit in front of me, a curious look in her indigo eyes, "This isn't about taking the kingdom for yourself, is it?"

"What are you talking about? Of course I want the throne," I replied, getting out of my slump and propping my elbow on my crossed legs, "Why? Do you think I'm after something else?"

"Well, everyone wants to be a ruler at some point, sure," she admitted, then gently smiled in a way she knew more about me than she was letting on, "but that doesn't seem like you."

Intrigued, I lay my chin in my left Palm and eyed the young princess of heart with subtle curiosity, "I'll be honest with you, Kairi; ever since father was corrupted, I never thought anyone could take his place, not even myself. So when the advisors told me about the suitors and the marriage, I got pretty irate. I mean, would you want a total stranger ruling your Island? I think not. So I thought of becoming queen so the people know who exactly is protecting them."

"But you don't want to?"

I shrugged, "It'll give me something to do to pass the time. As long as I don't have to face some bratty aristocrat trying to degrade me, life will be peace."

"Aha! I knew it!" Kairi cheered, slightly startling me with her finger pointed to my nose.

"Knew what, exactly?" I pondered, going cross eyed.

"You're not worried about Chronos! You just don't want to marry someone you don't love!"

At that statement, my entire face turned cherry and I pushed her finger away in a huff. "Th-That's ridiculous! What makes you think I'm that cheesy!? I-I just don't like any of the suitors, alright!?"

"Nuh-uh! No fighting your way out of this one, Mavis!" Kairi grinned, poking my cheeks, "Like every girl, you wanna find the love of your life and live happily ever after! What woman in their right mind wouldn't wish for that?"

"Me! Love and romance are two things I find ludicrous, and to put it quite bluntly, stupid! Seriously, you're as bad as Anolani sometimes," I shot back, trying to hide my embarrassment behind loose strands of purple hair.

Kairi giggled softly and gently rested her hand on my left shoulder, "You know, it's okay if you don't want to admit it. Just try to embrace these thoughts instead of hide from them. You'll feel a lot better knowing what you really want."

"Hmph, you're one to talk," I murmured with a hidden roll of me eyes, thinking of a certain spikey-haired keybearer snoring in the back room.

"Huh?"

"Nothing. Go get some rest Kairi. We have a few hours until the ship lands, and it'll be best if every warrior were bright eyed and bushy tailed."

At the word warrior, she considerably brightened, and with a wave goodbye, she exited the cockpit into the backroom where the others were peacefully sleeping in their rooms. "Don't forget what I said!"

I chuckled lightly at that, and after the door slipped shut, I welcomed the serene silence and relaxed into the captain's chair, staring at the glowing stars that flew passed as we traveled through space.

As calm as things were, I couldn't focus for a solid minute because my mind was in a flurry in an attempt to dissect what Kairi had told me earlier. Her words were true, I knew that. But her accusation as to why I hated my suitors was way off the mark. Close to a point, but not exactly hitting the target.

"It's not that I don't want to marry someone I don't love," I mumbled, all of a sudden feeling sullen and dejected, "It's that I won't find someone who'll actually love me in return...the way I am..."

* * *

"Wow..., This place puts the 'creep' in creepy," I heard my sister whistle as she gazed at the darkened atmosphere. I turned to give her my reply when I noticed something... different about her. Something different about everyone, now that I think about it!

"Anolani, since when do you have wings?" I pondered, curiously poking at the newly formed opaque dragonfly wings that sprouted from her back. Her entire ensemble had even undergone a drastic change to that of a nymph. Her normally straight red antenna had curled elegantly and there were spots of fall leaves of various warm colors that speckled her black tresses. Her round ears were now elongated to a sharp point, and her casual clothes now consisted of a blood red leaf that wrapped around her chest and trailed down her back, skinny black pants wrapped in brown decaying vines, and two smaller scarlet leaves that cloaked her feet, leaving her toes exposed. Her gloves remained the same with the addition of thin vines that climbed to her shoulders.

Anolani twitched her wings at my touch, "Ouch! Jeez, Mavis, when's the last time you clipped your nails?" She faced me with playful annoyance, then screamed at me in fright. "Gah! What happened to you!? Huh!? What happened to all of us!?"

Sora decided to speak up, dressed in what seemed to be a vampire coal black suit with a spiked collar, sharp canines, and a small pumpkin mask covering his left eye from view. "Looks like we're in Halloween Town." A small curled his lips, blues somehow brighter while at the same time being clouded with black make up.

"Is that why we're in these costumes?" Kairi pondered, pulling on her violet, oversized witch hat with irritation written on her face, not happy with the way it covered her eyes. Her dress was a darker shade of violet, a black studded belt around her waist and the hem torn to shreds with webs wrapped around her shoulders and waist, reaching her knees. Her shoes were replaced with black combat boots, and on the very tip of her hat hung a cute black cat charm.

"So we'll blend in better. Plus, we do look awesome!" Sora said as giddy as a child on Christmas, once again showing off his vampire teeth in a threatening way.

"No doubt Mavis won't have trouble with that. She's already scary as it is," Riku joked with a smirk, crossing his arms over his chest and also adorn with sharp fangs. His costume was closer to the classic Dracula with the blacks, whites and reds. His vest had changed to a solid black with a high collar and thin red fabric on the inside and trailed down into a swallow tail down his back to his knees, and had belts strapped around his chest over his plain white shirt. A saturated black paint covered to his elbows as it turned to rips and tears, and floated off him in wisps. Long black slacks and study black boots with silver buckles completed his costume a long with the subtle smoke the surrounded his eyes.

"You want to say that again?" I challenged, and jumped back after hearing my wolf- like growl that vibrated my throat, "What the?"

Anolani giggled hysterically and petted my head with a grin, "Aw! Is the wittle werewolf upset? Oh you're so cute now, sissy!"

I shot a queer look, and hesitantly reached up to touch, what I had hoped to be, my scalp. So many thoughts went through my mind when I felt soft, furry dog ears on top of my head.

"What the hell happened to me!" I accidentally howled, erupting laughter from the rest of my team. Indeed, I had become a slightly fur covered werewolf with white covered ears and a bushy white tail that waved back and forth lazily behind me. My hair become unruly with several strands sticking out of place, and I licked my teeth to feel the sharpness of my canines. My lab coat sprouted white fur as well as my arms, my left coated white while the other was tainted black and outside of the cast, the claws on my hands coming to a point. A white and gray shirt with large claw marks went below the waist, and I dawned black pants with similar marks on the thighs and fur leg warmers with dog paws on my feet.

"You know, this suits her," Riku taunted, dodging a swipe of my claws.

"Shut up you blood sucking leech!" I growled, tail bristling, "or I'll rip you a new one!"

"Uh, guys?"

"Like you could with those butter knives!" Riku growled back, stepping closer threateningly referring to my claws, "I'd love to see you take me on!"

"Guys?"

"I'd would love to give your ass a beating. Just come back when you grow a pair!" I yelled, temper flaring and stepping up to him until we were nose to nose.

"That's enough!" Sora jumped between us at arms length, glaring at us both, "Do we have to separate you two!?"

"Yeah, we're all friends here. And we have a mission to complete," Kairi scolded us, reminding us of our main objective.

Riku and I peered at each other gratefully, then pulled away in a huff, turning our backs to each other. "Fine. Just don't get in my way!" We both shouted.

"WAIT! Before we do anything else! Can someone explain to me one thing!?" Anolani yelled above us with a whine.

"What?" We all asked.

"What's Halloween?"

* * *

After about thirty minutes of trying to explain the concept of Halloween to Anolani (even I find the whole holiday a bit confusing. I mean, a holiday just for monsters? It doesn't make any sense), the five of us ventured deeper into the place known as Halloween Town, following the Jack-O-Lanterns as we walked into the center of town. A cold breeze gave each of us goosebumps, and looking around the small town faces four of us even more chills. Many of the stone walls and pavement had dead roots springing from the cracks, and in the center held a serpent fountain that spouted green ooze from its maw. Nearby sat a guillotine and outside the walls were a few homes and such, some guarded by rot iron gates.

"Looks barren," Riku said, not particularly liking the unsettling quiet.

Sora nodded in agreement and scoped the scene with worry in his eyes, "Yeah, where is everybody?"

"They aren't hiding, are they?" Anolani shivered, eyeing a few lone tombstones, "because this Halloween stuff is kinda freaky!"

"Maybe something frightened them off?" I guessed with a shrug, Sora shaking his head 'no' in return.

"There's no way! Nothing scares Jack Skellington!"

"Who?" Kairi pondered.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" A timid voice drifted from a nearby hedge, and slowly peering over the hedge was, too my surprise, a living rag doll littered with stitches and patchwork. Her eyes were wide but full of kindness and ruby red hair fell to the small of her back.

Anolani squealed, being very close to the dead bush when the doll appeared, and jumped behind me with a noticeable shiver shaking her frame. Sora, on the other hand, smiled in relief.

"Hey Sally!" Sora greeted with a casual wave. The doll, Sally, crept out into the open, and in her delicate hands held a sickly green Jack-O-Lantern dripping with similar green goop that exited the fountain nearby. "What's up?"

"It's good to see you again, Sora. I just wish it was under better circumstances," Sally replied with woe thick in her tone.

"What happened here? I thought everyone would be busy preparing for Halloween," Sora pondered, looking at the empty town, hoping to see a ghoul or two scuttle by.

Sally bowed her head in response, "We were. Jack wanted to make one of the scariest Halloweens ever. He made so many plans, had everyone ready to go. But then these strange creatures appeared, with these," She held up the pumpkin with ginger hands.

"What creatures?" Riku asked, already thinking of the culprits.

"I don't know, but they were pitch black, and had bright white eyes," the doll continued, "they left these pumpkins all over town and in the cementaries, then they disappeared. Jack was so interested in finding them so they can be in this year's Halloween, and left the rest of us with the pumpkins."

"Do you know what they do?" I inquired.

Sally nodded, her face downtrodden, "We didn't know what to do with them, and started smashing them in, thinking they were some kind of present. But then, like a ghost, Oogie Boogie appeared, and started kidnapping the townspeople. There were so many of them, and I was the only one that escaped. Oh, I hope Jack is alright."

"Don't worry, Sally. We'll find him and sort out this mess," Sora grinned triumphantly.

"But you should go and hide, just in case," Kairi advised, motioning to the nearest house, "there could be more of them still around. We want you to get caught too."

"I will. Please, find Jack," Sally pleaded one last time before running inside and locking the door behind her.

Turning to face us, Sora put a finger to his chin thoughtfully, "So now we know that the Followers are definitely here. But why were they leaving pumpkins around?"

"And why kidnap the townsfolk?" Riku inquired

"And what kind of name is Oogie Boogie!? Suddenly this place became a lot less scarier," Anolani said with relief.

"Who?" Sora pondered, suddenly confused.

Riku shot him a queer look, "You don't remember him!? You're the one that crushed that bag of bugs! Twice!"

"I did? I really don't remember," Sora said with a shrug.

I pondered carefully at that situation and started wondering around the town, "I wonder..."

The others looked at me with strange looks, either trailing after me, or still watching me in confusion. Coming closer to the fountain, I saw a glimmer of light shimmer by the water's edge. It appeared to be a glass shard; however, taking a closer look, I noticed the echo of laughter that emitted from it, as well as a living sack cackling uncontrollably below the crystal's surface.

"I knew it! Nil's taking Sora's memory of Oogie and letting them loose as ghosts," I explained.

"But why would he do that?" Kairi wondered, watching in amusement as Sora continuously knocked his fist against his skull, trying to bring the memories back.

"Maybe Oogie what's-his-face knows something that we should," my sister shrugged, antenna twitching.

"Like where the Keyhole is, and where the others are hidden," Riku snapped his fingers in conclusion, "we need to start collecting shards so we can put Sora's memory back in order and find the Keyhole. As entertaining as it is watching him punch his self," he ended with a chuckle while his companion shot him a glare.

"We can worry about spikey later. We need to find the townspeople and see what information they can give us on where this "Jack" might be. He could know something," Mavis rebuttaled.

"What makes you think that's the right decision?"

"It is. I don't hear anyone complaining," I shot him daggers.

"Oh dear," Anolani rolled her eyes, pulling Kairi away from us, "this could be trouble."

"You've got me."

"You don't count. We're finding the townspeople, it's been settled," I said, turning away from him.

"Hey! What makes you think we're just gonna follow you around! You aren't the boss of us!" Riku retorted.

"I never said I was! I was doing the best course of action for this situation!" I growled, "Like I'd accept your dumbass ideas!"

"Well I'm doing what's best for my friend! Or have you stopped caring all of a sudden!?"

"Of course not! This place is endanger, Riku, and I'm going to save it and Sora's memory my way!"

"Your way sucks!"

"Says the pot calling the kettle black! Sora will live with a few loose memories! They aren't keystones!"

"But they can lead us straight to the Keyhole and you know it! You just can't accept the fact that I came up with the better plan!"

"You know what? Since you think you're so brilliant, you go ahead and do your stupid plan!" I shouted, stomping off towards the nearest gate, "Just stay out of my way!"

"Fine! Be that way! Come on guys, let's go!" Riku marched in the opposite direction, leaving the last three in the dust.

...

"What just happened?!"


	13. Growing Darkness

Hello! Sorry for the late update. School just started and I was working my tail off for the first time in seven months! I feel so proud of myself ^^

Anyway, this is Chapter 13 of To Hold In The Mind, a little short (mind you I have school crap to get ready for tomorrow) but I hope will please you all my lovely readers. I'd like to personally like to thank my dear sister for dealing with my spazziness lately, and helping me with my issues,and my other new awkward turtle buddy for just being awesome. Love you guys!

Anywho, on with the chapter! I don't own Kingdom Hearts, just my OCs. By the way, tell me what you think of the two troublemakers and let me know if I need to make changes. I take any constructive criticism into consideration :3

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13. Growing Darkness

_"I don't know what to do your majesty. I've never delt with such strength in my life. This new power is a dangerous one. What if I can't control it?"_

_"Stop thinking so negatively, Mavis! As long as your heart is strong, the darkness will never overtake you."_

_"As much as I'd like to believe that, I can't help but feel like my heart is too fragile to bear this weight. I know that if I told the others about this, they'd either worry too much to fight, or turn against me. And I can't have that with Nil running loose in Chronos Cay. I need you to keep this secret, your majesty."_

_"Now Mavis, I'm positive that the others will understand what you're going through."_

_"I know, but I can't take any risks. Your majesty, I need you to promise me to not tell them a thing about this. And...And if I am consumed by the darkness-"_

_"I won't let that happen!"_

_"I know you'll try not to. But if become the darkness...if I turn into a monster like Nil...destroy me before I can do any damage."_

_"Mavis, now you know I couldn't do that if I tried. You're one of my dearest friends, like a niece to me."_

_"I understand...but this is what needs to be done."_

_"Mavis..."_

_"Promise me, Uncle Mickey. Please."_

_"... I promise. But I will try to find a way to bring you back."_

_"Heh heh, fair enough."_

* * *

_If I do become a monster... _I thought with melancholy, gazing with contempt at my black fur covered arm, watching it spark with untamed lightning, _I can only hope Anolani will guide the others to Chronos and save it... she'll be heartbroken, but..._

"It'll be the only way to keep her and everyone else safe," I finished with a heavy sigh, rising off the dusty tombstone and stretching out my body, tail and all. His majesty will have to fight with them to withstand against Nil's army of Followers and the Heartless, that is, if I don't cause too much trouble. Thinking back at our earlier radio conversation, I could see why I was so on edge today. Now that I have a clearer mind on things, arguing with Riku has got to be the stupidest thing I've done since cutting my arm open with that drawer of knives when I was nine. Because we're separated, that'll give Nil the chance to cut us down one by one.

"Hmph, he shouldn't have provoked me," I growled feraly, the fur on my tail bristling, "we wouldn't be in this mess if he just listened to my proposal."

And yet, I can't help but feel like I had a hand in that mess as well. I shouldn't have fought back, especially when my attitude was worse than sour after the chat I had with the King that morning.

I shook my head, "No use crying over spilled milk. Might as well find clues as to where the townspeople could be stashed." I turned to leave through the open coffin when the sound of footsteps made my ears twitch in curiosity.

"Mavis! Hey! Wait up!" I saw Kairi's running figure exit the gate, hand planted firm on her enlarged witch's cap.

I arched a brow as she came to a stop with her back bent and hands on her knees, "You know, if you stand up straight with your arms stretching overhead, you'll get more air into your lungs."

"Really? I never- wait a second! Not why I'm here!" The red head stopped herself from getting off topic, and shot a worried look, "Are you okay ,Mavis?"

I shrugged, "Meh. I've been worse. Where are the others?"

"They're with Riku, hunting for pumpkins," Kairi replied, "they want to see if they can get through to him."

"Figures."

"You know Riku's just trying to help a friend. He can be stubborn, sure, but he's just looking out for all of us."

I sighed and pinched my nose, "I understand that well enough, Kairi. It's valiant. Honorable even. But I would like to focus on saving the lives of others who are in more in need of it. Sora will live on with a few loose memories. I'm Father Time's daughter for goodness sake, I can put them back together anyway once we enter the Memory Lane."

"I guess so...Now that I think about it..." She murmured, finger to her chin.

"Listen, I'm sorry for getting worked up about this. I've just been on edge lately."

"About what?"

I waved my paw, "Nothing important. Just believe me when I say I want to get Sora's memory back just as much as you all do. As corny as this sounds, you four are the only people I can truly call friends. I'm not going to leave you in the dust like that."

After a moment of silence, I looked to Kairi curiously, wondering what's keeping her so quiet. She had a gentle smile on her countenance, her hands clasped behind her back and her eyes seeming to sparkle in the dim moonlight.

"What?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"You care about us, Mavis," she replied with a small giggle.

I rolled my eyes and scratched behind my wolf ears, heat rising to my cheeks, "D-Don't take it too seriously, alright? I need to keep this team together you know. And Sora losing his memory will create a dent in our mission."

"Say that all you want, Mavis. It's okay to care about your friends, you know. I'm sure Sora will be happy to know you care about him so much."

"Now you're really over thinking things," I pulled her hat over her eyes and looked towards the open tombstone, "since you're with me, let's try and find clues. We gotta find either the townspeople or this Jack Skellington..." I held a finger to my chin, "but where to look..."

"Maybe!" Kairi yanked her hat back into place, "you can use your new wolf smell."

"Is that a joke?" I growled. Kairi shook her head and waved her hands defensively.

"No! No! What I mean is, if your costume can give you a canine growl, howl, and hearing, maybe it gave you a wolf's sense of smell!"

I took this into consideration and raised a finger to my chin, "That could work. It's worth a shot I guess."

_Here goes the rest of my dignity..._I thought begrudgingly, and lifted my nose into the air and taking a couple short whiffs. The air was so thick with smoke, graveyard soil and other strange scents, it was hard to pull out anything distinct. After a minute or two, I finally picked up a more peculiar scent.

"I think I've got something," I announced, nose diving for the ground to follow the smell.

"Really, what is it?"

"It smells like... peppermint," I responded, going down to all fours, tail waving to and fro, "it leads back into town."

"Peppermint? Are you sure?" Kairi pondered looking puzzled, "that seems more like Christmas to me."

"What? Another mortal holiday?" I asked, crawling towards the gate.

"Yeah, I remember Sora mentioning a town like that here. I can't remember where though," she explained, following close behind.

I lifted my head a moment, a paw in the air, "well it's mixed in with the smell of dead leaves. Maybe if we follow it, it can lead us to a forest, and then to the source of the peppermint scent."

"Well what are we waiting for! Sniff it out, Mavis! Come on, girl!"

"You're enjoying this aren't you?"

"A little," she said with a grin.

"Don't," I deadpanned, a growl building in my throat.

"Aw, I can't help it! I've never had a dog before," Kairi beamed, scratching me behind the ear. Unfortunately, it felt so good, I wagged my tail and kicked my foot a little, whining for more, "so cute!"

"Gah! Never mention this to anyone!" I jumped back with my cheeks burning.

"Hmm, only if I get to pet you more anytime I want," Kairi bartered with a sly grin.

I groaned and turned my back to her, "Fine, whatever! Let's just go already!"

With that, I took a nose dive to the ground on all fours and began our hunt.


	14. Pumpkin Hunt

Finally! Chapter 14 is up! Hopefully this chapter turned out well. School's burning out my brain cells . Though this is a bit short, it has a bit of Anolani's personal story, her origins, and why she seems to spaz out whenever she's separated from Mavis for more than two seconds. O.o please enjoy!

I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Obviously I'd be mega set for life I did. :3

* * *

14. Pumpkin Hunt

"Waaahh! This is hopeless! Without Mavis, we'll never get to the Keyhole!" Anolani groaned desperately, pulling out her hair in frustration, "You just had to go all macho on her, Riku! Why couldn't you just shut up for once!?"

"Hey! It wasn't just my fault! She's just a part of this as I am!" Riku retorted angrily, "I'm telling you! My plan'll work just as well as hers!"

"But once you find those shards and find the Keyhole, whose gonna be the one to open the pathway, huh? Not Sora! Not you! Not me! Only Mavis can, and you just had to piss her off!" The raven-haired girl took hold of his collar and shook him violently, "Thanks to you, this world is royally screwed! Finished! Done!"

Not being able to take much more of this arguing between his friends, Sora scowled and shouted to the top of his lungs, "Would you two stop it already!?"

Anolani stopped her ranting and unceremoniously dropped Riku on the ground, ignoring his growls and standing up straight with a curious look in her eyes. Riku stood after brushing dirt off his costume and look to Sora in surprise. Now Sora has always been pretty reasonable; he rarely raised his voice, so seeing his closest friend scowling at them with his arms crossed over his chest, Riku knew he was dead serious.

"We're not gonna get anywhere if we keep fighting all the time!" Sora exclaimed, snapping some sense into his two remaining companions.

Anolani grumbled and kicked a loose pebble while Riku sighed and rubbed his neck in defeat.

"Yeah, you're right. But what are we gonna do now, Sora?" Anolani inquired, eyes betraying worry, "You remember the last time we got separated, and that was a complete disaster."

"Kairi's with her now, so maybe she can talk Mavis into coming back," he suggested with a shrug, only to be shot down with the guard's queer look.

"I don't mean to be rude to my sissy and all, but she's stubborn as an ox- almost literally! She's probably having Kairi go on with her plan. Who knows how far they could be now."

Riku spoke up, "Then we'll just have to do mine instead, and wait for them to come back to the square."

"Yeah! Two plans are better than one!" Sora beamed.

"Okay, but as soon as we're done, we're going to find Kairi and Mavis. I don't know about you guys, but two princesses by themselves in this spooky place with a bunch of rogue ghosts hanging around gives me the willies!" Anolani violently shook.

* * *

It was then that the largest pumpkin hunt in Halloween Town began, starting in the town square where most of the tainted green pumpkins were dropped off and ready to be smashed to pieces. The first target was taken out by Sora, and the trio jumped in surprise and quickly melted into fighting stances when the Oogie ghost exploded from the green slime, it's body completely see through and covered with light will-o-wisps. The three were quick to attack the laughing menace, and found it much harder to fight when it started to multiply with every defeat. Anolani proved to be an asset to the two Keybearers; as they fought close combat against the ghosts, Anolani was quick with her hand on the trigger, eliminating the duplicates before the numbers became overwhelming.

When the ghost evaporated into the air defeated, all that was left of the battle was a small clear prism, containing a piece of Sora's lost memory.

Anolani was careful when handling the prism and slipped it into her pocket, "One down. How many to go?"

"Shouldn't be too much," Riku replied, observing the scene, "the townsfolk already smashed most of the pumpkins before we came."

"But you know what I don't get? Why haven't we seen I single Heartless or Follower?" Sora pondered, hand to his chin.

"Gah! Don't jinx us!" Anolani panicked.

"He has a point. This seems set up," Riku thought. _What could Nil be up to this time?_

"We can worry about that later! We have memory shards to collect!" Anolani ordered, "When we collect all of them, we can hand them to Mavis and have her fix everything."

"Right. It's hard not remembering," Sora groaned, knocking his skull around for the fifth time that day.

The three scattered about Halloween Town, from the square to the Curly Hill destroying more pumpkins and collecting the shards that were left behind. During this, Anolani couldn't shake the anxiety she felt growing in the pit of her stomach. It was the familiar feeling of being separated from her little sister, her innate sense to protect her driving her off the bridge of insanity. Picturing Mavis and Kairi walking aimlessly through this cold and spooky place where just about anything could pop up and take a bite sent her spine shivering, and the raven guard try her hardest to focus on fighting than her untamed anxieties. Unfortunately that came as a very difficult task, and Riku and Sora addressed this after killing off another ghost by the hill.

"What's up with you, Lani?" Sora asked, using her nickname as a means to calm her somewhat, "You look like you're about to throw up."

"You worried about Mavis?" Riku pondered, "You don't have to be. She and Kairi can take care of themselves."

The red eyed girl groaned in frustration, pulling her antenna, "Nyaaaah! I can't help it! It's my job to protect her! Oh, just imagine the kind of trouble she could get into! Ugh! I'm a horrible older sister!"

"Whoa! Calm down, she'll be fine!" Riku awkwardly tried sooth the panicked young guard, "I'm sure she's more worried about you than you are of her."

"That's impossible, Riku!" Anolani retorted angrily, the tone of her voice causing the two males to flinch, "I'm her personal guard! Her big sister! It's my job to watch over her! Make sure she's safe!" Anolani's cheerful facade had faded into that of complete sorrow, her eyes staring intently at the ground to hide her tears, "I promised mama that I'd always be there for her...that no matter what, we'll always be together. She's all I have left. She's the only one I ever had."

"Anolani...," Sora spoke with softness, azure eyes showing worry.

"I...I-I can't even remember anything...before I wandered into the castle that night...," the Guard sniffed, Sora and Riku watching on with a sudden shock overtaking them, "Everything about me is a blank slate. I was cold...hungry...everyone gave me strange looks. I was so lost... s-so scared...But then I heard about the Father of Chronos, that he was so nice and kind to his people. I thought that maybe he could help me. That's how I was caught stealing food from the kitchen. I made up the whole story that my parents left me, so I wouldn't seem so weird. I mean, who'll believe that a six year old came out of nowhere?"

"Mavis really is..." Riku murmured, coming to a realization, gazing at Anolani as she rose her head with a light smile curling her lips. Mavis is the only one she has left, and all she ever had...

"When I told her the truth six years ago, I was worried that she wouldn't look at me the same way again. But you know what she said?" She giggled, "'I don't care where you came from or how! Just don't break anything in the lab while I'm gone!"

_Definitely sounds like a Mavis answer..._ The two boys thought wearily.

Anolani, now calm and collected, exclaimed with determination, "That's why I have to protect her! She doesn't care where I came from! So long as I'll always be there, Mavis will be happy! And maybe, just maybe, I can find out where I came from!"

Sora beamed, "That's the spirit!"

_So they really do have each other to count on..._Riku smiled gently, watching his companions boast with pride, and bring up their motivation. _Only it's not just them anymore. They've got us..._

"Come on you two! Just a few more pumpkins and we head back to the square!" Riku called, about to leave the two when he was suddenly surrounded by a hoard of Followers, their claws ready to strike. "Damn!" Riku swore, and the trio summoned their blades (In Anolani's case, her pistols) in a defensive stance.

"Get ready!"

"I knew it! Sora's a jinx!"


	15. Santa and The Pumpkin King

I know I'm stretching this world a bit, but the next chapter will be the last you see of Halloween Town...or will it? X3 school has been murder on my brain cells, so I hope this chapter turns out well. It's a journey to Christmas Town! Woo! We get to meet Santa! Christmas in February! In my personal opinion, I prefer that than Valentine's day. It's like national singles day for crying out loud! -.- again, personal opinion. To those who love Valentine's, I have no problem with you all :3

Now, lighting the disclaimer torch! I don't own Kingdom Hearts! I can only enjoy its epicness and torture my sister with fun facts :P

* * *

15. Santa and The Pumpkin King

"Explain to me again this "Christmas" holiday you seem infatuated with. It intrigues me," I murmured in deep concentration, nose buried in graveyard dirt as Kairi and I trudged through the thick wood on the outskirts of town.

"Christmas?" The red head pondered, then held a finger to her chin in deep thought, "Well, it's a holiday where people give presents to those they care about. When kids are smaller, they're not really old enough to understand the true meaning of it I guess, so they believe in a man named Santa Claus."

"Santa Claus?" I lifted my head up a bit to address her, "And what does this 'Santa Claus' do for the children who believe in him?"

"He delivers presents to all the good boys and girls of the world," Kairi smiled.

I quilted a brow, then shook my head in disbelief and continued our search, "Sometimes I wonder of what you're telling me is true."

"It is true!" She pouted, "He makes all kinds of toys in his workshop with his elves, and travels all over the world in his sleigh delivering presents on Christmas day!"

"Again, I hardly find that believable..."

Kairi sighed hopelessly, and trailed behind me as we continued our stroll. We wandered all around Halloween Town following the peppermint scent over tombstones and through various pumpkin patches, failing to spot a single clue. Not a single Follower or Heartless was spoken of, and as the day (or I guess night) dragged on, I was becoming more put off with the strong aroma of mint and dirt.

_'Whoever bears this scent must've been from another part of Halloween Town. There's no way peppermint is common in such an eerie place. Not only that, but I've been tracking it all over the place. It's everywhere! Either this person was hopelessly lost, or he or she is looking for something... or perhaps even someone...'_

As the two of us came to a halt in dead end at a ring of large trees, Kairi and I gazed skeptically at the intricate carvings engraved in each of their bark. We circumnavigated the rim, our eyes scanning the bark with anxious looks.

"I think all of these carvings represent a holiday," Kairi announced, stopping in front of a particular tree with a pink heart engraved in the center, "See? This one must be Valentine's day."

"Interesting," I murmured, twitching my wolf tail as I got down on all fours and sniffed the ground, "and the smell is stronger here..." I trailed it as Kairi came around the other side, naming off each holiday with her finger.

"St. Patrick's day...Thanksgiving...Easter...," She continued counting each off with her finger until we met in the very center, where stood a tree with an evergreen engraved in the wood. It was decorated in so many festive reds and golds, and topped with a glittering star on its peak.

"Christmas!" Kairi cheered happily, eyes lighting up as I stood on two feet with a weary look crossing my features.

"The scent ends here. And look," my eyes shot to the yellow knob on the edge, "I guess this is a door to a Christmas related world. A world within a world...," I pondered softly, "how interesting..."

"Let's go inside!"

"What?"

Kairi smiled and explained, "You said the smell ends here, right? So, following that logic, whoever was here probably left through this door."

"You just want to see this Santa don't you?" I said bluntly as she opened the door, a winter breeze blasting from its entrance. I'm glad I'm covered in fur.

"Well, that too...," She replied sheepishly, then with a jerk, pulled me through the portal, our screams echoing as our bodies fell through the colorful space.

* * *

Before given the chance to straighten myself out, I was thrown violently into a fluffy sheet of ice face first, Kairi following not too far behind. As I lifted my head from the snow bank, my eyes widened in wonder at the glowing town in the distance. Lights of multiple colors were strung from house to house with care and I could swear I heard the blare of a toy train echoing with the occasional jingle of bells. Near the center most part of the tiny village stood a tall evergreen, branches decked from top the roots to the tips in ornaments and lights and candies, and I eyed a carousel paint in red and white stripes not far from it. I have never seen such a place that practically oozed joy from its crevice, and standing to my feet and eyeing my partner's happy beam, I could tell I wasn't alone.

"It's just like Sora told us!" Kairi grinned, "This is Christmas Town!"

"Right...," I replied, still enamored by the sudden change in scenery, "I've never seen something like this before. Something so...," I bent down to gingerly filter snow through my fingertips with a small smile, "so light I guess... there's no other way to describe it." As the white emptied my palm and revealed charred black fur, my lips fell back into neutral, "we should start by going into town and finding Mr. Santa Claus. I have a feeling he's the one who's been wandering Halloween Town, and there's not a chance I can sniff him out now. Peppermint is everywhere."

"Then let's go! I'll race you to the bottom!" Kairi cheered happily and bolted down towards the square.

I released a small chuckle before following her lead in sliding down the ice.

After reaching a tie at the base of the hill, the two of us strolled leisurely into the eerily quiet town. I suddenly felt a weight bearing down on my shoulders, and the smell of darkness became pungent.

I whipped my arm out in Kairi's path. "Hold it! Something's not right..."

Seeing no need for further explanation, the velvet haired teen was quick to summon her weapon and stand at my side, ready for a fight. As predicted, four Followers surrounded us, erupting from beneath the snow in blackened puddles.

"Ready for that lesson I promised?" I pondered darkly, summoning my golden gauntlet over my left hand and feeling static run through the right.

"Ready!" Kairi retorted, indigo eyes turning into deadly slits.

"Lesson number one: strike with purpose!"

We charged, two for each of us, and began our fight with determined battle cries. My first target was down within minutes, my fist plowing into the creature's maw and flowing white hot electricity throughout its body, and I turned towards the second in a defensive stance.

"Do not charge blindingly at your opponent," I instructed, Kairi having yet to attack, her sword in her vice grip and ready for use, "observe your enemy's movements...," the Follower in front of me continued to shift its body in a swaying motion, not showing any sign of attack, "do not strike... focus on your target... do not show any fear... " Anolani's words echoed in my mind, "wait until the sun touches the horizon to enjoy the first star..."

_"Remember, Mavis. Wait until the sun touches the horizon to enjoy the first star."_

_"How does that make any sense?"_

_"Well, you don't go star gazing until it gets dark, right? You have to be patient, and wait until the sun sets to actually see the stars in their brilliance!"_

The Follower's sudden roars pulled my out of my stupor, and with a glare of contempt, I shouted with a raised fist, "Then attack!" Metal met with flesh and the creature dissipated into oblivion. Next to me I heard the Follower's final cry as Kairi slated the monsters with one sweep, a look of surprise etched in her face.

I smiled, "And that's all there is to it. Not hard, right?"

"Wow...where did you learn that phrase? 'Wait until the sun sets on the horizon?...'"

I shrugged, "A pretty decent teacher."

"What's going on out here? Hello!?"

Kairi and I turned to one of the buildings to find... yet another strange sight.

"Is that..."

"A skeleton...in a suit?" The words felt alien on the tongue, my eyes staring at the new arrivals in interest. Indeed it was peculiarly strange to see a well over six foot tall, bleach white skeleton in a black pin stripe suit walking around a town so alight with joy, but I had a feeling he was here for a reason. And behind was a man that grabbed Kairi's undivided attention, dressed in a red coat and red cap framed with soft cotton, a long white beard, and... ahem...a bit on the heavy side...

The man in red was the first to speak, "Are you girls alright? We heard an awful racket just now."

"Everything is fine, sir, " I answered, seeing as Kairi couldn't hold in her excitement, "Have any Followers been giving you any trouble?"

"So that's what those terrible creatures are called!" The skeleton spoke next, a light bulb seeming to go off, "Followers! Not a very frightening name..." He held one bony finger to his chin.

_Is that all he cares about? It's name?..._

"I guess I pegged you wrong, Jack," the man replied with a guilty look, "those monsters aren't your creation."

"We came here to see if we can help. We're friends of Sora's," Kairi explained, calming down to get serious.

"Sora? Well then, it is a pleasure to meet you!" Jack said with gusto, "Jack Skellington is the name!"

"So you're Jack...," I murmured softly in deep thought, then face the man in red, "And you must be... Santa Claus, right?"

"Why yes, I am," he replied with a smile.

"I'm Kairi, and this is Mavis," she introduced, "Sora is with two of our other friends in Halloween Town. We were wondering if you can tell us anything about those green pumpkins around town."

"Ah, yes! It wasn't too long ago if I recall," Jack explained, "those monsters, Followers, was it? They appeared in town holding those pumpkins and scattering them all over the place. So I thought to myself: why, these creatures could be a hit for this year's Halloween Spooktacular! I left to go find more of them, but then they just up and disappeared! And when I came back, everyone was gone!"

"I stumbled upon them myself. I thought they were Jack's and went to return them," Santa explained.

"We believe those pumpkins are the problem," I said to them, "According to Sally, as soon as the pumpkins were smashed, Oogie's ghost appeared and kidnapped all the townspeople. Of course we'd asked Sora where we could find him, however..."

"Sora's memories of Oogie Boogie were used to make them, so none of us know where to look," Kairi finished, an anxious look on her countenance, "we were wondering if you knew where to find him."

Jack stood puzzled in the snow, an arm across his chest and tapping his skull, "The only place he could've taken them would be his mansion in the outskirts of town, but it fell apart a year ago."

"Well, it's the only clue we've got," I shrugged nonchalantly, "Think you can lead us there, Jack?"

Jack beamed, "Of course! Just follow me!"

As we turned to make our leave, a warm gloved hand touched my blackened wrist, and Santa called, "May I have a quick word with you, Miss Mavis?"

I quirked a brow curiously while the others waited a few steps ahead.

"Go wait for me at the door, I'll only be a moment," I instructed, and watched them leave without a second thought.

Once we were out of earshot, Santa gave me an inquiring look, "What seems to be troubling you, Mavis?"

"Huh? I'm perfectly fine, Mr. Claus," I replied in confusion.

The jolly man gave me a stern look and retorted, "Now I may be old, but I can always tell when someone is concerned or worried. It's in your eyes."

_How did he...he's more perceptive than I give credit for..._

With a heavy sigh, I admitted. "I'm just afraid of what I'll find at the end of my journey is all...," I peered at my right arm in disgust, "Even if my friends will be with me, I wonder how long before they completely desert me. Maybe scorn me for what I'm going to become..." _What I'm becoming... What will Sora and Kairi think when they see the monster I'm turning into...What will Riku... _"It's a frightening thought... but I've gotta keep protecting them. In reality, they're all I got."

"Now, I wouldn't say that," Santa replied with comfort, "I may not know exactly what's going on, but I do know that along this quest of yours, you will come to meet many different people, in many different places, all of which will come to care for you as much as you do them. Kairi seems care about you, doesn't she?"

"Well, I suppose...," I mumbled thoughtfully.

"And I'm sure the rest of your friends wish the very best for you."

"I doubt that...," I said remorsefully, remembering the reason why we were separated in the first place, "I sort of...got into a fight with one of my, uh, friends. I mean, we usually get into it a lot, but we always end up being the best of companions after the fact. I don't normally feel this...this guilty!" I growled, feeling frustration, "I was only trying to do what was best for the team!"

"You're starting to really realize that you're not the only one who is affected by your decisions," the man in red explained with a smile, "Just let things run their course. If he is truly your friend, he'll understand. And don't think every decision you make is best!" He scolded, "Understand what others feel about it first and come to a compromise. I'm sure this friend of yours thought they were doing what's right too."

_Right... Riku thought of Sora first before the town. He just wanted to save his best friend..._

"I'll be sure to remember that," I said with a small smile, then turned to leave, "call if anything happens!"

"Wait a moment, there was something else I wanted to ask!" Santa called, once again halting me in my tracks, "Your name...it's not on my nice or naughty list! Care to explain that?"

I smirked and replied with a chuckle, "Would you believe there is a whole world that doesn't know of your existence?"


End file.
